JULY 10, 2026 – As the Air Force examines the future of persistent intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strike capabilities, officials are increasingly focused on defining the operational requirements that will guide the next generation of uncrewed systems.
At the center of that effort is a growing emphasis on flexibility, affordability and rapidly scaling production. To accelerate this shift, the Air Force is partnering with the Defense Innovation Unit to leverage DIU’s expertise in rapidly prototyping and fielding commercial technologies. This partnership is crucial for developing next-generation capabilities that will inform the future of the MQ-9 Reaper fleet.
“Future conflicts will demand greater mass, faster adaptation and the ability to absorb operational losses while continuing to generate combat effects,” said Lt. Gen. Chris Niemi, Headquarters Air Force chief modernization officer. “As we refine requirements for future long-endurance ISR and strike platform capabilities, our objective is to provide commanders with more options by fielding platforms that are more modular, lower cost, and easier to mass produce.”
While the Air Force continues to maximize the value of its existing MQ-9 fleet through targeted repairs and procurement of available airframes to meet current Combatant Commander requirements, long-term planning is increasingly focused on concepts built around mass, maneuver, enduring persistence and distributed lethality.
Under this framework, future ISR capabilities would be designed from the outset to be produced in larger quantities, fielded more rapidly and employed with greater operational risk tolerance than traditional aircraft.
A key element of that vision is the requirement for open systems architecture and modular design. Rather than treating interoperability and upgradeability as enhancements added later in development, the Air Force is increasingly viewing these characteristics as foundational requirements from the start.
To put this strategy into practice, the Air Force is leveraging acquisition pathways like the DIU’s Commercial Solutions Opening, which allows for rapid and iterative prototyping alongside commercial and non-traditional partners. Ultimately, this process will directly inform the requirements for the MQ-9’s successor, ensuring the new platform can be more easily adapted to a wide variety of tomorrow’s missions, even ones that aren’t obvious today,
“Open systems architectures allow sensors, kinetic payloads, software and mission applications to be integrated more quickly, while modular designs enable us to modify platforms consistent with mission risk,” Niemi said.
This approach supports a more dynamic force design model in which capabilities can be tailored to multiple operational problems rather than relying on a single platform optimized for a narrow set of missions.
By engaging with industry early and often through this innovative process, the Air Force aims to deliver a system that is more resilient, adaptable and capable of meeting the challenges of a new era of warfare.
For more information about the operational requirements guiding the next generation of uncrewed systems, view the Defense Innovation Unit solicitation for Massed Modular Aircraft here.
Secretary of the Air Force Public Affairs