Drone maker unveils ‘low-cost’ alternative to MQ-9 Reaper

Swarm Aero unveiled Gamera, a Group 5 uncrewed aircraft proposed for the U.S. Air Force’s Massed Modular Aircraft requirement as a lower-cost MQ-9A successor. The company claims a payload above 2,800 pounds, a 72-foot wingspan and an unrefuelled range of about 9,000 nautical miles. Proposed stores include JASSM-ER and LRASM, alongside surveillance and other modular payloads. Gamera remains a company-funded developmental offer with no announced customer or unit price, so comparisons with Reaper rely on design targets rather than demonstrated operational cost, survivability or production performance.