GA-ASI and the US Air Force tested the MQ-9A Reaper with APKWS laser-guided rockets, firing at air and ground targets at the Nevada Test and Training Range.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has announced a collaborative test with the US Air Force in which the MQ-9A Reaper Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) employs Advanced Precision Weapons System (APKWS) laser-guided rockets. The company said testing was recently conducted at the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR).
Over the course of an unspecified number of test flights, the test team demonstrated “multiple types and variations of firing profiles, including aerial targets,” according to the statement. “All shots were executed to perfection by the MQ-9A crews using laser-guided rockets and a specialized launcher,” the company states.
A photograph accompanying the statement shows the MQ-9A equipped with a LAU-131 A/A capsule loaded with AGR-20 inert rockets, as the military designates the APKWS. However, the statement did not mention whether the fixed-wing, air-launched AGR-20F was also used against unmanned aircraft systems artillery (FALCO).
The company further stated that “this effort supported technology adaptation requirements in real time, moving quickly from planning to integration and flight testing.” It is currently unclear whether this means that the integration of the APKWS into the MQ-9A was in response to an Urgent Operational Need (UON).
In an effort to rapidly test and make new capabilities available to warfighters, the US Air Force and GA-ASI collaborate on a demonstration of the advanced precision weapons system that uses #MQ9A Reaper®.
Read the news: https://t.co/izLaZilq8X #APKWS pic.twitter.com/lm2Us4mdEi
— General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc (GA-ASI) (@GenAtomics_ASI) May 11, 2026
“We recognize the value that a system like APKWS brings to the MQ-9 aircraft as a tool to counter unidirectional attack drones,” said GA-ASI President David R. Alexander. “APKWS can increase the number of weapons the MQ-9A can carry, while also being able to carry new, lower-cost weapons. More than anything, this integration effort underscores how government and industry can collaborate to quickly test and make new capabilities available to warfighters.”
Last year, GA-ASI revealed that the Gray Eagle Short Take-Off Landing (STOL) conducted test flights with the APKWS, successfully engaging target drones. The test was intended to demonstrate a new counter-UAS (C-UAS) capability for the drone.
The importance of testing.
The introduction of the APKWS on the MQ-9A Reaper would give the US Air Force a persistent airborne C-UAS capability with lower costs compared to fighter aircraft. Additionally, the MQ-9A could remain on station much longer than fighter jets without requiring in-flight refueling.
Until now, the US Air Force flew Combat Air Patrols (CAP) with F-16 Fighting Falcons, F-15E Strike Eagles and A-10C Thunderbolt IIs armed with APKWS rockets that can be used against drones. However, this comes with a large logistical and economic burden, as evidenced by the urgent combatant command requirement that resulted in a probe refueling adapter for the A-10 to address the tanker shortage.
The Reaper is also much cheaper to fly, with an estimated cost per flight hour of between $3,000 and $4,000, compared to the aforementioned fighters, which can range from $20,000 to $30,000 per flight hour. Couple this with the low cost of the APWKS, and it’s easy to see why the Air Force is working on this project.
The MQ-9A used in the C-UAS role would provide another advantage, relieving fighter jets of this role and allowing them to focus on other missions. A disadvantage would be the speed since, with a cruising speed of approximately 200 knotsthe Reaper would need time to intercept more distant targets.
It is currently unclear how many LAU-131 A/A rocket pods the MQ-9A can employ. However, since some variants of the MQ-9 have six hardpoints, we could consider a capacity of 42 rockets, and even more if each hardpoint can carry more capsules.
The APKWS
The AGR-20 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) is a conversion of the Hydra 70 unguided rockets that adds a laser guidance kit to the basic weapon, converting it into a precision guided munition (PGM). The Hydra 70 is derived from an earlier weapon, the Mk 4/Mk 40 folding fin aerial rocket (FFAR) of the late 1940s, a system widely employed in the Korean and Vietnam Wars.
By adding a guidance section to a cheap rocket (inserted in the middle of the rocket, between the 10-pound high-explosive warhead at the front and the Mk66 Mod 4 rocket motor at the rear), the US Air Force has been able to obtain low-cost smart munitions that can be used in the air-to-ground role. These are particularly useful when the full warhead of larger bombs (such as JDAM) and missiles (such as the AGM-65 Maverick or AGM-114 Hellfire anti-tank missiles) is not necessary to obtain the desired effects or is not suitable due to the danger of collateral damage.
The guidance section of the APKWS includes four folding wings with wing-mounted laser seeker collection optics with a wide field of view enabling engagement of both moving and stationary targets. BAE Systems, which produces the weapon, says that “no modifications to the rocket, firing platform or fire control system are required,” with the only known modification being a longer variant of the LAU-131/A 7-round rocket launcher normally employed by the US Air Force, called the LAU-131 A/A (the Navy uses the AGR-20 with the similar LAU-68 F/A).
Further developing air-to-air capability from these older rockets is another impressive feat for the US Air Force, which now has the ability to engage targets at a very small fraction of the cost of other existing missiles. While an AIM-120 advanced beyond visual range radar-guided medium-range air-to-air missile (AMRAAM) is currently priced at over $1 million each and an AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II is priced at around $420,000.
The high cost of interceptors against these cheap targets and the size of the launch pad magazines have been two of the main concerns highlighted by the forces countering these attacks. On the other hand, the guide section of an APKWS II only costs about $15,000, and the entire APKWS II round only costs a few thousand dollars more (including the warhead and engine).
The APKWS II’s low cost comes with some restrictions, as the weapon has a shorter range than current USAF missiles and the warhead is also smaller. However, against slow and cheap targets like drones, the AGR-20 can provide the Air Force with a very cost-effective weapon.
Additionally, the APKWS II can provide US aircraft with deeper magazines for air-to-air munitions, as they can be carried in a 7-shot rocket pod at a single hardpoint that could otherwise only accommodate a single AIM-9X or AIM-120 missile. This feature could be useful when dealing with swarm or saturation attacks from enemy drones, a tactic that has already been used by Russia in its aggression against Ukraine, by Iran in its attacks on Israel, and sometimes, on a smaller scale, even by the Houthis.
