The Italian Air Force has ordered two additional MQ-9A Block 5 Remotely Piloted Aircraft, which will be delivered by the end of 2027 together with new Ground Control Stations.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) has announced that the Italian Air Force ordered two additional MQ-9A Block 5 Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA). The aircraft will be delivered by the end of 2027, together with an unspecified number of Ground Control Stations (GCS).
“Italy has been a very important partner for GA-ASI for more than 20 years,” said GA-ASI President David R. Alexander. “The Italian Air Force has continued to be a leader in the utilization of MQ-9A to support a wide range of Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions in Italy, over the Mediterranean, and in support of NATO operations.”
The deal is part of a Foreign Military Sale (FMS) authorized in 2024 which covered the procurement of up to six MQ-9s. The FMS also followed the beginning of the Block 5 flight operations in Italy in 2023 and the upgrade of the aircraft already in service to the same configuration.
Notably, according to Aviation Week, the two MQ-9s acquired by Italy are so-called “white tails.” These are aircraft already built but which remained unsold.
The Foreign Military Sale
The FMS covers the acquisition of up to six Block 5 Predators (the name Reaper has not been adopted in Italy), together with related equipment and support, for a total estimated cost of $ 738 million (€ 671.6 million). The new FMS would have allowed the Italian Air Force to double its Predator RPA fleet, adding six aircraft to the five which were in service at the time.
Parliamentary documents released in December 2025 mention the approval of the acquisition of the six aircraft in the Block 5 configuration. Specifically, the document mentions the “acquisition of the 3rd, 4th and 5th MQ-9A Block 5 system,” adding that each system includes two MQ-9As and one GCS.
Furthermore, the document mentions the acquisition of three additional GCS for a total of eight. Compared to the FMS notice, the government mentioned a cost of € 578 million.
According to the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notice, in addition to the six MQ-9s, Italy has also requested three Mobile Ground Control Stations (MGCS), twelve AN/DAS-4 Multi-spectral Target Systems, nine LYNX AN/APY-8 Block 20A Synthetic Aperture Radars with Maritime Wide Area Surveillance (MWAS) capability and one Embedded Global Positioning & Inertial Navigation System (EGI).
The contract will also include engines, test stations, radios, ground data and SATCOM terminals, Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) systems, together with a comprehensive support package and initial training. Once operational, the training will be managed entirely by the 32° Stormo (Wing) of the Italian Air Force, the operational unit to which the MQ-9s are assigned.
Interestingly, the DSCA notice confirmed that the Italian MQ-9s have been indeed weaponized, after a not always explicit mention by the Ministry of Defense following a 2015 FMS for the RPA’s weaponization. “Italy already has MQ-9 Block 5 aircraft with strike capabilities in its inventory and will have no difficulty absorbing these articles into its armed forces,” said the DSCA.
This can also be found in the parliamentary document, which specifically mentions the “integration of weapon components on the new systems and the retrofit on the MQ-9A Block 5 systems already acquired.”
Italy and the MQ-9
Italian MQ-9s have always been surrounded by a veil of secrecy, with few details divulged to the public, especially regarding its offensive capabilities. However, it appears there was a chance of tendency in the last few years with a more public profile for the aircraft, including its participation to airshows.
Italy previously acquired through FMS four MQ-9A Block 1 aircraft in 2008 and two more in 2009. However, one was lost over Libya in 2019.
Under the Mid Life Modernization (MLM) of the RPA fleet of the Italian Air Force, it was decided to acquire two new MQ-9A Block 5 aircraft and a ground station, in addition to the upgrade of the other five RPAs already in service to the same configuration. The MLM was part of a 2021 contract with GA-ASI.
The first of these newly built aircraft was delivered in 2023, however no details are available regarding the second one. At the time. GA-ASI said the Italian fleet included four MQ-9 Block 1 RPAs, meaning the new Block 5 aircraft would have been the 5th and 6th MQ-9s in service.
Meanwhile, another MQ-9 was lost inside its protective shelter in Kuwait following an Iranian drone strike that targeted Ali Al Salem Air Base in March 2026. The MQ-9 is the only Italian aircraft loss publicly acknowledged in connection with the Iranian attacks on Ali Al Salem.
The latest acquisition would now bring the Italian MQ-9A fleet to 6-7 aircraft, although it is not possible to count accurate figures due to the limited official information regarding the aircraft in service. It should be noted that the latest Ministry of Defense’s annual multi-year planning document mentions the logistical support for a fleet of ten MQ-9A Block 5s and eight Ground Control Stations, based on the proposed six-aircraft buy of the 2024 FMS.
