GA-ASI and the U.S. Air Force tested the MQ-9A Reaper with APKWS laser-guided rockets, firing at both air and ground targets at the Nevada Test and Training Range.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has announced a test in collaboration with the U.S. Air Force which saw the MQ-9A Reaper Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) employing Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) laser-guided rockets. The company said the testing took place recently at the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR).
Throughout an unspecified number of test flights, the test team demonstrated “multiple types and variations of shot profiles, including aerial targets,” according to the statement. “All shots were executed flawlessly by the MQ-9A crews using laser-guided rockets and a specialized launcher,” says the company.
A photo accompanying the statement shows the MQ-9A equipped with a LAU-131 A/A pod loaded with inert AGR-20 rockets, as the APKWS is designated by the military. However, the statement did not mention if the AGR-20F Fixed Wing, Air Launched, Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems Ordnance (FALCO) were also employed.
The company further stated that “this effort supported real-time technological adaptation requirements, moving rapidly from planning to integration and flight test.” It is currently unclear if this means the integration of the APKWS on 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, U.S. Air Force and GA-ASI collaborate on demo of Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System using #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 one-way attack drones,” said GA-ASI President David R. Alexander. “APKWS can increase the number of weapons the MQ-9A is able to carry, as well being able to carry new lower cost weapons. More than anything, this integration effort underscores how government and industry can collaborate to rapidly test and make new capabilities available to warfighters.”
Last year GA-ASI disclosed that the Gray Eagle Short Take-Off Landing (STOL) conducted test flights with the APKWS, successfully engaging target drones. The testing was meant to demonstrate a novel Counter-UAS (C-UAS) capability for the unmanned aircraft.
The significance of the testing
The introduction of the APKWS on the MQ-9A Reaper would give to the U.S. Air Force a persistent airborne C-UAS capability with lower costs compared to fighter jets. Additionally, the MQ-9A would be able to remain on station much longer than fighter jets without the need for aerial refueling.
Until now, the U.S. 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 which can be employed against drones. However, this comes with a large logistical and economic burden, as demonstrated by the urgent combatant command requirement which resulted in a Probe Refueling Adapter for the A-10 to address tanker’s shortages.
The Reaper is also much cheaper to fly, with an estimated cost per flight hour between $3,000 and $4,000, compared to the aforementioned fighters which can range between $20,000 and $30,000 per flight hour. Adding this to the low cost of the APWKS, it is straightforward to see why the Air Force is working on this project.
The MQ-9A used in the C-UAS role would bring another advantage, as it would unburden fighter jets from this role and allow them to focus on other missions. A disadvantage would be the speed as, with a cruise speed of approximately 200 knots, the Reaper would need time to intercept targets farther away.
It is currently unclear how many LAU-131 A/A rocket pods can be employed by the MQ-9A. However, with some MQ-9 variants having six hardpoints, we could look at a 42-rocket capacity, and even more if more pods can be carried by each hardpoint.
The APKWS
The AGR-20 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System II (APKWS II) is a conversion of the Hydra 70 unguided rockets which adds a laser guidance kit to the baseline weapon, turning it into a precision-guided munition (PGM). The Hydra 70 is itself derived from a previous weapon, the 2.75-inch (70 mm) 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 U.S. Air Force has therefore 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 (like JDAM) and missiles (like the AGM-65 Maverick or AGM-114 Hellfire anti-tank missiles) is not needed to obtain the desired effects or not suitable due to the danger of collateral damages.
The guidance section of the APKWS includes four foldable wings with wing-mounted laser seeker collection optics with a wide field of view which enable to engage both moving and stationary targets. BAE Systems, which produces the weapon, says that “no modifications are required to the rocket, firing platform or fire control system,” with the only known modification being a longer variant of the LAU-131/A 7-round rocket launcher normally employed by the U.S. Air Force, called the LAU-131 A/A (the Navy uses the AGR-20 with the similar LAU-68 F/A).
Further developing an air-to-air capability out of these older rockets is another impressive feat for the U.S. Air Force, that has now the possibility to engage targets at a very small fraction of the cost of other existing missiles. While a current beyond visual range radar-guided AIM-120 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM) is priced at more than $1 million each and an AIM-9X Sidewinder Block II has a price tag of around $420,000.
The high cost of the interceptors against these cheap targets and the magazine size of the launching platforms have been two of the main concerns highlighted by forces countering these attacks. On the other hand, the guidance section of an APKWS II only costs around $15,000, with the full APKWS II round only costing a few thousand dollars more (to include the warhead and the motor).
The low cost of the APKWS II comes with some restrictions, as the weapon is shorter ranged than the 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 highly cost-effective weapon.
Moreover, the APKWS II can provide American jets with deeper magazines for air-to-air munitions, as they can be carried in a 7-shot rocket pod on a single hardpoint that could otherwise take only a single AIM-9X or AIM-120 missile. This feature could come in hand while facing swarm or saturation attacks from enemy drones, a tactic that has already been used by Russia in their aggression of Ukraine, by Iran in their attacks on Israel and sometimes on a smaller scale even by the Houthis.
