Why a cheaper weapon changes the math
For nearly two decades, the AGM-114 Hellfire has been the Reaper’s primary strike weapon. At roughly $117,000 to $150,000 per round, depending on the variant and contract year, it was designed to kill tanks, vehicles, and high-value personnel. Firing one at a commercial-grade drone that costs a few hundred or a few thousand dollars creates a cost exchange that heavily favors the adversary. Multiply that across dozens or hundreds of incoming drones, and the economics become untenable. The APKWS II, built by BAE Systems, solves part of that problem by bolting a laser-guidance section onto a standard 2.75-inch Hydra 70 unguided rocket. Analysts and defense budget documents generally place the full round’s cost between $20,000 and $40,000, with the guidance kit itself running roughly $15,000. That is still far more expensive than the targets it is meant to destroy, but the ratio improves dramatically. A Reaper armed with a rack of APKWS rockets can engage far more targets per sortie than one carrying four Hellfires, staying on station longer with a deeper magazine. The APKWS is already combat-proven on other platforms. Marine Corps AH-1W and AH-1Z attack helicopters, Air Force A-10 Warthogs, and several allied aircraft have fired thousands of the rockets in operations across the Middle East and Afghanistan. What is new here is the pairing with the MQ-9 in an air-to-air role, turning a drone built for surveillance and ground strikes into a hunter of other drones.What the test did and did not prove
The Nevada demonstration confirmed that the MQ-9A can physically launch APKWS II rockets, guide them with its own sensors, and hit objects in flight under controlled range conditions. That is a genuine technical milestone. But several important details remain undisclosed. Neither the Air Force nor GA-ASI has released the exact dates of the trials, the number of rockets fired, or the types of aerial targets used. Whether those targets were small fixed-wing drones, rotary-wing systems, or towed decoys matters significantly when judging how representative the test was of real-world threats. There is also no confirmed timeline for when APKWS-armed Reapers will reach operational squadrons. Moving from a successful range demonstration to a fielded capability requires software integration with the Reaper’s fire-control system, safety certification, weapons release authority approvals, and crew training on new engagement procedures. As of June 2026, none of those milestones have been publicly scheduled. Perhaps the most important caveat: controlled test ranges do not replicate the full complexity of combat. A real engagement against maneuvering drones in contested airspace, with electronic jamming, cluttered terrain, and degraded communications, is a far harder problem than hitting cooperative targets over a flat desert. The leap from successful trial to reliable battlefield performance involves variables that a single demonstration cannot resolve.The bigger counter-drone picture
The wars in Ukraine and the Red Sea have made one thing painfully clear: cheap drones are everywhere, and existing air defenses were not designed to stop them affordably. Ukrainian forces have used commercial quadcopters rigged with grenades to destroy armored vehicles. Houthi militants have launched waves of one-way attack drones at shipping and military bases. In both theaters, defenders have sometimes been forced to use surface-to-air missiles costing hundreds of thousands of dollars against threats worth a tiny fraction of that. The APKWS-armed Reaper fits into a layered response the Pentagon is building to address that gap. Ground-based electronic jammers can disable some drones without firing a shot. Directed-energy systems, including high-powered lasers and microwaves, promise near-zero cost per shot but remain limited in range and maturity. Smaller expendable interceptor drones are being developed to match cheap threats with cheap defenses. The MQ-9 carrying guided rockets adds another option: an airborne patrol that can loiter for hours and pick off incoming drones before they reach their targets. That role is a significant evolution for the Reaper. The MQ-9 was originally designed to orbit over battlefields at medium altitude, watching and waiting for the chance to strike fixed or slow-moving ground targets with precision weapons. Repurposing it as a drone-on-drone interceptor leverages its long endurance and powerful sensor suite but also raises questions. Its radar cross-section is not small. Its speed and maneuverability are modest compared to fighter aircraft. And its data links, while robust for ground-strike missions, have not been publicly tested under the kind of electronic warfare conditions that would accompany a large-scale drone swarm attack.What comes next for the Reaper’s new role
If the Air Force moves forward with operational integration, the most immediate benefit would be in theaters where high-end air defenses are scarce and manned fighters are stretched thin, but small unmanned threats are constant. Forward operating bases, convoys, and critical infrastructure in the Middle East and the Pacific are all potential use cases. A Reaper overhead with a full load of APKWS rockets could serve as a persistent counter-drone shield, filling a gap that ground-based systems alone cannot cover. But even at $20,000 to $40,000 per shot, the fundamental asymmetry between interceptor and target has not disappeared. If an adversary can field a thousand drones at $500 each, the total cost of the swarm is $500,000. Shooting down every one of them with APKWS rockets could cost $20 million to $40 million. The economics are better than Hellfire, but they still favor the attacker. That reality is why the Pentagon is pursuing the full spectrum of counter-drone tools rather than relying on any single solution. What the Nevada test does establish is proof of concept with real operational potential. The Air Force has shown that its most widely deployed armed drone can take on a new mission with a weapon that already exists in large quantities, without waiting years for a clean-sheet system to be developed. As more details emerge about follow-on testing, integration timelines, and performance against diverse drone types, the picture of what APKWS-armed Reapers can deliver will sharpen. For now, the Reaper has a new trick, and the price tag is right. More from Morning Overview*This article was researched with the help of AI, with human editors creating the final content.
