MQ-1 Predator vs MQ-9 Reaper
The MQ-9 Reaper is the direct successor of the MQ-1 Predator, retired from US service in 2018. The jump in capability is huge: from 204 kg of payload to about 1,701, more than eightfold, and from 1,240 km of range to 1,850. Wingspan grows from 14.8 to 20.1 metres. The Predator pioneered the armed drone; the Reaper made it a standing strike system.
MQ-9 Reaper is 1.4 times larger than MQ-1 Predator
Reference range: a 1.5× difference.
Size to scale
Reference range
MQ-1 Predator — 1,240 km
MQ-9 Reaper — 1,850 km
Logarithmic scale from 1 km to 100,000 km.
Payload or warhead
MQ-1 Predator — 204 kg
MQ-9 Reaper — 1,701 kg
Logarithmic scale from 1 kg to 10,000 kg.
MQ-1 Predator
14.8 m · 1,240 km · 204 kg
USAF fact sheet; retired from US service in 2018.
MQ-9 Reaper
20.1 m · 1,850 km · 1,701 kg
USAF fact sheet: 3,750 lb of external payload.
* Open-source estimate. Range may be control-link, flight or ferry range depending on the system; it is not a combat radius.
Figures used and how reliable they are
- MQ-1 Predator: 14.8 m, 1,240 km, 204 kg. USAF fact sheet; retired from US service in 2018.
- MQ-9 Reaper: 20.1 m, 1,850 km, 1,701 kg. USAF fact sheet: 3,750 lb of external payload.
Related comparisons
Compare any other pair in the military drone comparison, with its full method. More context: Modern warfare · Weapons · All tools
Sources / References
- U.S. Air Force official fact sheets for the MQ-1, MQ-9 and RQ-4.
- Baykar, AeroVironment and Teledyne FLIR public product sheets.
- RUSI reports on drone use in Ukraine.
- CSIS and IISS open-source analysis of Shahed, Lancet and Orlan.