Italy grows Reaper fleet

With the two new Reaper, the AMI will have eight in service with a further four approved for purchase should it choose to do so. (Italian Air Force)

Italy has acquired two new General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) MQ-9A Reaper Block 5 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), the manufacturer announced on 8 September 2026.

The UAVs, which are part of a batch of six that was approved by the US government for a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) procurement by Italy in August 2024, will be delivered at the end of 2027. A ground control station (GCS) is included in the buy, the value of which has not been disclosed.

Once in service, these two new Reapers will add to the five already operated by the Italian Air Force (Aeronautica Militare Italiana: AMI) and which are being upgraded to the same Block 5 standard (the service originally acquired six UAVs, with one being lost over Libya in November 2019).

The Block 5 improves on earlier versions of the Reaper in that it provides a significant increase in electrical power generation, auto take-off and landing capability with improved landing gear and datalinks, and features the latest version of the GA-ASI Lynx AN/APY-8 Block 20A synthetic aperture radar (SAR) with maritime wide area surveillance (MWAS) capability. It has an endurance of up to 26 hours and can operate up to 45,000 feet. It has a 2,087 kg of payload capacity that includes 1,701 kg of external stores.

The Reaper is operated by the AMI's 32° Stormo (Wing) based at Amendola in southern Italy. It is unclear if the AMI will exercise the four remaining UAVs of the batch that was approved by the US in 2024.