23 US Military Drones and What They Do

In March of 2023, Russia sent a Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jet to intercept an American MQ-9 Reaper drone over the Black Sea to prevent it from entering Russian airspace over Crimea. Currently, the U. S. military uses 23 drone models, ranging from hand-launched devices to ones larger than many commercial aircraft.

By consulting a variety of resources on military technology, 24/7 Wall St. compiled a list of all currently known unmanned aerial vehicles used by the U. S. military. The drones are listed in alphabetical order.

Out of the 23 identified vehicles, Northrop Grumman, a major military contractor, produces five, including the most expensive drone in the current American fleet, the MQ-4C Triton. Costing $180 million, the Triton, is a high-altitude, long-range surveillance aircraft that was commissioned into the U.S. Navy in 2018. The Triton is one of two drones that cost upwards of $100 million. 

Five relatively inexpensive unmanned aircraft on this list are produced by AeroVironment, which manufactures small UAVs designed for both civilian and military use. One AeroVironment drone is the $6,000 Switchblade 300, a tube-launched loitering munition that weighs 5.5 pounds and measures 2 feed in length. These weapon systems, also called kamikaze drones, are being supplied by the Pentagon to Ukrainian forces and used against invading Russian forces. 

Costing between $10 million and $60 million, five U.S military drones are manufactured by General Atomics, a San Diego-based private energy and defense company. Among these is the $20 million armed Predator reconnaissance drone.

Some U.S. military drones cost less than $50,000, such as the Coyote, made by Waltham, Massachusetts-based defense contractor Raytheon. Similar to the economical drones produced by AeroVironment, the Coyote is an disposable tube-launched “kamikaze” drone, designed for intercepting and destroying small attack drones.

Here are the drones used by the U.S. military:

Black Hornet Nano

• Primary use: Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance
• Cost: $190,000
• Manufacturer: Grotmol Solutions
• Dimensions: 0.4 feet (length)

Coyote

• Primary use: Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance
• Cost: $15,000
• Manufacturer: Raytheon
• Dimensions: 4.9 feet (wingspan)

CQ-10 Snowgoose

• Primary use: Aerial supply, aerial surveillance, and communications relay
• Cost: $650,000
• Manufacturer: MMIST
• Dimensions: 9.5 feet (wingspan)

MQ-19 Aerosonde

• Primary use: Reconnaissance, surveillance, and data collection
• Cost: $100,000
• Manufacturer: AAI Corporation
• Dimensions: 9.5 feet (wingspan)

MQ-1B Predator

• Primary use: Armed reconnaissance, airborne surveillance, and target acquisition
• Cost: $20.0 million
• Manufacturer: General Atomics
• Dimensions: 55 feet (wingspan)

MQ-1C Gray Eagle

• Primary use:Reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition and ground strikes
• Cost: $21.5 million
• Manufacturer: General Atomics
• Dimensions: 29.5 feet (wingspan)

MQ-4C Triton

• Primary use: Persistent maritime intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance
• Cost: $180.0 million
• Manufacturer: Northrop Grumman
• Dimensions: 130.9 feet (wingspan)

MQ-8B Fire Scout/MQ-8C Fire Scout

• Primary use: Reconnaissance, classification, targeting, and battle management
• Cost: $27.5 million
• Manufacturer: Northrop Grumman
• Dimensions: 31.5 feet (length)

MQ-9 Reaper

• Primary use: Intelligence collection in support of strikes, coordination, and reconnaissance
• Cost: $56.5 million
• Manufacturer: General Atomics, L3Harris, Raytheon
• Dimensions: 66 feet (wingspan)

Northrop Grumman Bat

• Primary use: Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance
• Cost: Unknown
• Manufacturer: Northrop Grumman
• Dimensions: 12 feet (wingspan)

Phoenix Ghost

• Primary use: Ground attack, Close-air support, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance
• Cost: Unknown
• Manufacturer: Aevex Aerospace
• Dimensions: Unknown

RQ-11 Raven

• Primary use: Low-altitude Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance
• Cost: $260,000
• Manufacturer: AeroVironment Inc.
• Dimensions: 4.5 feet (wingspan)

RQ-12 Wasp

• Primary use: Reconnaissance and surveillance with low-altitude operation
• Cost: $49,000
• Manufacturer: AeroVironment Inc.
• Dimensions: 2.4 feet (wingspan)

RQ-170 Sentinel

• Primary use: Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, reconnaissance, and electronic warfare
• Cost: $6.0 million
• Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin
• Dimensions: 46 to 90 feet (wingspan)

RQ-180

• Primary use: Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance
• Cost: Unknown
• Manufacturer: Northrop Grumman
• Dimensions: 164 feet (wingspan)

RQ-20 Puma

• Primary use: Surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting
• Cost: $250,000
• Manufacturer: AeroVironment Inc.
• Dimensions: 9.2 feet (wingspan)

RQ-21 Blackjack

• Primary use: Surveillance, reconnaissance, target acquisition, and communication relay
• Cost: $11.9 million
• Manufacturer: Insitu Inc.
• Dimensions: 15.7 feet (wingspan)

RQ-4 Global Hawk

• Primary use: High-altitude, long-endurance Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance
• Cost: $130.0 million
• Manufacturer: Northrop Grumman, Raytheon, L3Harris
• Dimensions: 130.9 feet (wingspan)

RQ-7 Shadow

• Primary use: Reconnaissance, surveillance, target acquisition, and force protection
• Cost: $632,500
• Manufacturer: AAI Corporation
• Dimensions: 20 feet (wingspan)

ScanEagle

• Primary use: Reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition
• Cost: $3.2 million
• Manufacturer: Insitu Inc.
• Dimensions: 10.2 feet (wingspan)

Stalker

• Primary use: Intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance
• Cost: $1.4 million
• Manufacturer: Lockheed Martin
• Dimensions: 16 feet (wingspan)

Switchblade 300

• Primary use: Reconnaissance and precision strikes
• Cost: $6,000
• Manufacturer: AeroVironment Inc.
• Dimensions: 2 feet (length)

Switchblade 600

• Primary use: Reconnaissance and anti-armor precision strikes
• Cost: $10,000
• Manufacturer: AeroVironment Inc.
• Dimensions: 5.9 feet (length)