Air system · MALE Attritable UAS

Wildfire UAS

ISR / Strike / Collaborative Combat

Also known as: Wildfire UAS / Wildfire unmanned aircraft

Wildfire UAS military drone profile image
Wildfire UAS — ISR / Strike / Collaborative Combat

Wildfire UAS overview

Wildfire UAS is General Atomics Aeronautical Systems' clean-sheet, attrition-tolerant uncrewed aircraft for core intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, strike, and related high-demand missions. GA-ASI also describes civil and commercial possibilities, including heavy cargo delivery, but its central defense concept is a lower-cost aircraft that can be fielded in quantity and accept risk in kinetic operations. The company presents Wildfire as complementary to, rather than simply a renamed version of, its larger MQ-9B mission set.

GA-ASI says the design uses lower-cost components, modularity, high autonomy, collaborative operations, and proliferated low-Earth-orbit satellite control. Its September 2026 announcement claims more than 8,000 nautical miles of ferry range and carriage of two Long-Range Anti-Ship Missiles or four Joint Strike Missiles, with other combinations of munitions, launched effects, sensors, or payloads also proposed. These are manufacturer claims; speed, endurance, dimensions, ceiling, weight, and a kilogram payload figure are Not publicly disclosed.

GA-ASI unveiled Wildfire on September 10, 2026, and said it had proposed the aircraft for the Defense Innovation Unit's Massed Modular Aircraft competition as an alternative to the MQ-9A. That announcement establishes the aircraft's identity, manufacturer, mission claims, and proposal status, but not a production award, service entry, or operator. The catalog illustration is supplied artwork and is not proof of the claimed specifications.

Armament

Two Long-Range Anti-Ship Missiles, four Joint Strike Missiles, or other mission payloads (manufacturer claim; configuration dependent)

Development and operational timeline

  1. GA-ASI describes Wildfire as a clean-sheet, attrition-tolerant aircraft combining lower-cost components with modularity and scalability
  2. GA-ASI says Wildfire is designed for highly autonomous, collaborative operations and core ISR and strike missions
  3. GA-ASI proposes Wildfire for the Defense Innovation Unit's Massed Modular Aircraft competition as an MQ-9A alternative
  4. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems unveils Wildfire UAS publicly on September 10, 2026