미공군, MQ-9의 임무를 대체할 저가 드론 개발 추진

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When Computers Went To Sea | 이란 전쟁의 MVP는 MQ-9 - Daum 카페

이란 전쟁의 MVP는 MQ-9

미공군도 대당 3천만 달러 짜리 MQ-9 리퍼의 손실은 감당하기 힘든지, 리퍼의 임무를 일부 대체할 수 있는 소모성 드론의 개발을 추진하네요. Massed Modular Aircraft라는 개념으로 여러 대의 드론이 함께 비행하고, 일부가 격추되고 충분한 수량을 유지해 적을 압도할 수 있는 게 핵심이라고 합니다.  페이로드는 최소 2,800파운드, 최대탑재중량에서 전투반경 2,300해리, 자력 장거리 이동 비행거리 8,000해리를 요구하고 2031년까지 IOC를 달성해야 한다고 합니다. 

공군과 DIU, MQ-9 임무를 대체할 저가형 드론 개발 추진

2026년 7월 9일 | Stephen Losey

미 공군은 국방혁신단(Defense Innovation Unit, DIU)과 협력해 저렴한 비용으로 대량 생산이 가능하며, 여러 대가 편대를 이루어 MQ-9A 리퍼가 수행해온 일부 임무를 맡을 수 있는 소모성(attritable) 드론 개발 아이디어를 산업계로부터 모집하고 있다.

7월 7일 공개된 제안요청서(RFP)에서 DIU는 '대량 모듈형 항공기(Massed Modular Aircraft, MMA)'라는 개념의 드론 설계를 제안해 줄 것을 기업들에 요청했다. 이 개념에서는 여러 대의 드론이 함께 비행하며, 일부가 격추되더라도 충분한 수량을 유지해 적을 압도할 수 있도록 하는 것이 핵심이다.

공군은 7월 9일 발표한 자료에서 DIU와 이 사업을 공동 추진하고 있다고 밝혔다. DIU는 민간 기술기업과 협력해 새로운 기술을 신속하게 실전 전력으로 전환하는 국방부의 핵심 혁신 조직 가운데 하나다.

공군은 성명에서 "이번 협력은 MQ-9 리퍼 기단의 미래를 결정할 차세대 능력을 개발하는 데 매우 중요하다"고 밝혔다.

이번 사업은 '에픽 퓨리(Operation Epic Fury)' 작전에서 약 30대의 MQ-9를 손실한 데 이어, 우크라이나 전쟁을 통해 저렴하면서도 소모 가능한 드론이 현대전에 매우 효과적이라는 사실이 입증된 이후 추진되고 있다. 소모성 시스템은 전투에서 일부를 잃더라도 전체 전력이나 비용 측면에서 감당 가능한 수준을 전제로 설계된다.

DIU는 대당 3,000만 달러가 넘는 고가의 '정밀(Exquisite)' 항공기에 의존하는 현재의 방식은 "점점 더 저렴한 대공전력으로 무장한 다층 방공망을 운용하는 적과 맞서기에는 지속 가능하지 않다"고 지적했다.

이 같은 상황이 계속된다면 군은 두 가지 "받아들일 수 없는 선택" 가운데 하나를 해야 한다고 DIU는 설명했다. 위협 지역 밖에서 작전해 임무 효과를 희생하거나, 방공망이 구축된 공역에 진입해 더 큰 손실을 감수해야 한다는 것이다.

DIU는 군이 높은 손실을 피할 수 없다는 현실을 받아들이고 이에 맞춰 전력을 구성해야 한다고 강조했다.

DIU는 제안요청서에서 "효과적으로 작전하기 위해서는 이러한 불가피한 손실을 받아들이고, 더 저렴한 무인 플랫폼을 대량으로 운용해야 한다"며 "일부가 전투에서 손실될 것을 처음부터 전제로 설계해야 한다"고 밝혔다.

미 공군 현대화 책임자인 크리스토퍼 J. 니미 중장은 이러한 견해에 동의했다.

니미 중장은 공군 성명을 통해 "미래의 분쟁은 더 큰 전력 규모와 더 빠른 적응력, 그리고 작전 손실을 흡수하면서도 계속 전투 효과를 창출할 수 있는 능력을 요구할 것"이라고 말했다.

공군과 DIU는 MMA 드론이 모듈식 구조를 갖춰 전자광학 영상 센서를 비롯한 다양한 임무 장비를 신속하게 교체 장착할 수 있기를 원하고 있다. 이를 통해 현재 MQ-9가 수행하는 다양한 임무를 이어받도록 한다는 계획이다.

니미 중장은 "장기 체공 정보·감시·정찰(ISR) 및 타격 플랫폼의 미래 요구사항을 구체화하는 과정에서, 지휘관들에게 보다 많은 선택지를 제공하기 위해 더욱 모듈화되고, 비용이 낮으며, 대량 생산이 쉬운 플랫폼을 확보하는 것이 목표"라고 설명했다.

MMA 드론은 무장 운용, 정보 수집, 전자전 수행, 통신 중계 등의 임무를 수행하면서 지속적으로 공중에 머무를 수 있어야 한다. DIU는 이러한 방식이 적을 지속적으로 소모시키고 "비싼 대공미사일과 자원을 보충 속도보다 빠르게 소진하도록 강요해 항상 방어적인 입장에 머물게 만들 것"이라고 밝혔다.

제안요청서에 따르면 MMA 드론은 최소 2,800파운드의 탑재중량을 갖추고, 최대 탑재 상태에서 최소 2,300해리의 전투반경을 확보해야 한다. 또한 최소 8,000해리의 자력 장거리 이동 비행 능력도 갖춰야 한다.

DIU가 추가적으로 요구하는 능력 가운데 하나는 한 명의 운용자가 여러 대의 MMA 드론을 동시에 통제할 수 있는 기능이다. 또한 최소 200노트의 속도로 비행하고, 길이 6,000피트 이하의 활주로에서도 이륙할 수 있어야 한다.

계약업체는 계약 체결 후 21개월 이내에 실물 크기 시제기의 비행시험을 실시할 수 있어야 하며, 2031회계연도까지 임무 수행이 가능한 항공기 20대를 인도하는 초기운용능력(IOC)을 확보해야 한다.

공군은 이번 DIU 사업이 시작에 불과하다고 밝혔다.

공군은 "궁극적으로 이번 과정은 MQ-9 후속 기종의 요구 성능을 직접 결정하는 데 활용될 것이며, 새 플랫폼이 오늘은 예상하지 못하는 미래 임무까지도 손쉽게 수행할 수 있도록 하는 데 기여할 것"이라고 설명했다.

단기적으로는 에픽 퓨리 작전에서 손실된 MQ-9를 일부 보충하는 것이 목표다. MQ-9 제작사인 제너럴 아토믹스는 이를 위해 기존 기체보다 더 큰 후속 모델인 MQ-9B를 도입하는 방안도 가능하다고 제안한 바 있다.

Air Force and DIU Want Cheap Drones to Take on MQ-9 Missions

Airmen assigned to the 1st Special Operations Support Squadron Mission Sustainment Team refuel an MQ-9 Reaper assigned to the 1st Special Operations Wing at Melrose Air Force Range, New Mexico, Dec. 16, 2024. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Gracelyn Hess)

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Air Force and DIU Want Cheap Drones to Take on MQ-9 Missions

July 9, 2026 | By Stephen Losey

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The Air Force is partnering with the Defense Innovation Unit to get industry’s ideas for lower-cost, attritable drones that can fly in groups and take on some of the missions that MQ-9A Reapers have performed.

In a solicitation posted July 7, the Defense Innovation Unit asked companies to submit their pitches for a drone concept called massed modular aircraft, or MMA. Under this system, multiple drones would fly alongside one another, in numbers great enough that they could still overwhelm the enemy even if several were shot down.

In a July 9 release, the Air Force said it is working with DIU on the idea. The organization is one of the Pentagon’s main innovation arms that works with commercial technology companies to transition capabilities to the field on rapid timelines.

“This partnership is crucial for developing next-generation capabilities that will inform the future of the MQ-9 Reaper fleet,” the Air Force release states.

DIU’s pitch comes in the wake of the loss of around 30 MQ-9s in Operation Epic Fury, and as Ukraine has shown the effectiveness of cheap, attritable drones in modern warfare. Attritable systems are designed to be effective but cheap and plentiful enough that losing some in combat would not be an overwhelming or expensive loss.

DIU said that the military’s reliance on “exquisite” aircraft costing more than $30 million apiece “is unsustainable against adversaries utilizing layered defenses enabled by increasingly low-cost antiaircraft capabilities.”

If that dynamic doesn’t change, that will force the military to choose between one of two “unacceptable compromises”: either operating outside the threat zone, which will hinder how effective a drone can be in its mission, or flying in contested airspace and taking greater losses.

DIU argued in its solicitation that the military has to come to terms with the proposition that heavy losses will happen and is ready to adapt.

“To operate effectively, we must accept this inevitable attrition, and deploy larger numbers of less-expensive unmanned platforms, designing them from the start with the expectation that some will be lost in combat,” DIU wrote.

Lt. Gen. Christopher J. Niemi, the Air Force’s Chief Modernization Officer, echoed those points.

“Future conflicts will demand greater mass, faster adaptation and the ability to absorb operational losses while continuing to generate combat effects,” Niemi said in the Air Force’s statement.

The Air Force and DIU want these MMA drones to be modular, or capable of being rapidly fitted with various payloads including full-motion video sensors, so they can do the jobs MQ-9s perform today.

“As we refine requirements for future long-endurance ISR and strike platform capabilities, our objective is to provide commanders with more options by fielding platforms that are more modular, lower cost, and easier to mass produce,” Niemi said.

MMA drones are intended to be capable of launching weapons, collecting intelligence, performing electronic warfare operations, or relaying communications while staying constantly airborne. This will exhaust an enemy and keep them “on the defensive,” the DIU notice states, “forcing them to burn through expensive anti-aircraft missiles and resources faster than they can be replaced.”

MMA drones should be able to carry payloads of at least 2,800 pounds, and be able to fly a combat radius of at least 2,300 nautical mile while loaded up, the notice states. They also should be able to fly a one-way self-deployment flight of at least 8,000 nautical miles.

A secondary attribute DIU wants the drones to have is the ability for one operator to control multiple MMA drones. The unit would like them to be capable of reaching airspeeds of at least 200 knots and be able to take off from 6,000-foot runways or shorter.

Contractors should be able to flight test a full-scale prototype within 21 months of receiving the award and achieve initial operating capability of delivering 20 mission-ready aircraft by fiscal 2031.

The Air Force release suggested the DIU solicitation is just the start of the process.

“Ultimately, this process will directly inform the requirements for the MQ-9’s successor, ensuring the new platform can be more easily adapted to a wide variety of tomorrow’s missions, even ones that aren’t obvious today,” the release states.

In the short term, officials say they want to “buy back” some MQ-9s to replace the ones lost in Epic Fury, an effort that MQ-9 maker General Atomics has suggested could involve procuring the larger MQ-9B, the successor aircraft to the original model.

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