The US military has lost dozens of MQ-9A Reaper drones — worth collectively more than $1 billion — during surveillance and strike missions over Iran, prompting the Pentagon to seek large numbers of cheaper, more expendable drones. The Defense Innovation Unit has issued a call for industry pitches, arguing that the current reliance on aircraft costing over $30 million each is "unsustainable" against adversaries fielding increasingly low-cost anti-aircraft defences. The move signals a shift towards a strategy of overwhelming enemy air defences with cheaper drones, accepting that many will be lost in combat.

The approach echoes Ukraine's campaign of launching hundreds of relatively inexpensive drones and missiles daily against targets deep inside Russia. By contrast, the US has relied on costly crewed and uncrewed aircraft since it and Israel attacked Iran on 28 February 2026, losing nearly 30 Reapers by May and cutting its fleet to around 135. A typical Reaper costs about $30 million, or up to $50 million with a full sensor package; General Atomics stopped making them for the US in 2025 but is interested in the new contract. The notice seeks drones carrying payloads up to 2,800 pounds with a combat radius of at least 2,300 nautical miles, envisaging 20 mission-ready aircraft by 2031, while the Pentagon's 2027 budget request includes roughly $54 billion for drones and autonomous warfare.