MQ-9 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle

SOCOMProcurementPartial Reconciliation1108MQ9

What it is

MQ-9 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle — a procurement program run by SOCOM.

What changed

No FY25→26 comparison — trajectory data incomplete for this line.

Who gets it

No award linkage at high confidence.

GAO oversight: DOD — 5 high-risk areas

Budget Figures

FY24 Actuals

$17.7M

FY25 Total

—

FY26 Request

$24.9M

FY25→26 Change

—

Budget Trajectory

FY24: $17.7M
FY26: $24.9M

FY2026 award data is a partial year — USASpending awards are reported on a rolling basis and the fiscal year does not close until September 30. why →

No research dossier for this program — dossiers cover 50 of 326 programs, ranked by FY2026 requested dollars. why →

Budget Line Items(workbook-cited)

Exhibit P-1

Account	Org	Type	Amount
Procurement, Defense-Wide	SOCOM	FY24 Actuals	$17.7M
Procurement, Defense-Wide	SOCOM	FY25 Enacted	$13.5M
Procurement, Defense-Wide	SOCOM	FY26 Disc. Request	$12.9M
Procurement, Defense-Wide	SOCOM	FY26 Reconciliation	$12.0M
Procurement, Defense-Wide	SOCOM	FY26 Total	$24.9M

Budget Details(R-2/P-40 facts)

Project	All Prior Years	FY24 Actuals	FY25 Total	FY26 Base	FY26 Request
Program Element	$330.1M	$17.7M	$13.5M	$12.9M	$12.9M

Program Narratives

Description— MQ-9 UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE

The MQ-9 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Line Item funds the acquisition and rapid fielding of Special Operations-peculiar (SO-p) mission kits, payloads, weaponization, modifications, production support for MQ-9 UAVs, Ground Control Stations (GCSs), and training systems. The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) is designated the Department of Defense lead for planning, synchronizing, and as directed, executing global operations against terrorist networks. As the Combatant Command executing these operations, the USSOCOM requires the capability to find, fix, finish, exploit, and analyze time sensitive high-value targets. These targets can often only be identified with patient collection of information and require rapid, decisive action during the short periods in which they present themselves. This Line Item addresses the primary areas of Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR), target acquisition, and strike. The Adaptive Airborne Enterprise (A2E) capability funds the acquisition and rapid fielding of SO-p capabilities for the MQ-9 UAV to use in collaboration environments to facilitate a more efficient and expeditious integration to operate in against near-peer and peer adversaries in contested or denied and highly congested environments. The USSOCOM is shifting from multiple operators controlling a single MQ-9 to human-machine teams commanding a family of uncrewed and optionally-crewed systems. The USSOCOM requires the capability to advance unmanned systems from a single operational domain and hierarchical command and control system to a multi-domain, agile, small footprint, mesh-network command and control ecosystem. A2E is a platform-agnostic, modular weapon system designed for integration and interoperability with various crewed and uncrewed platforms. This adaptable system leverages SOF access and placement to enable sensing, non-kinetic effects, and strike in contested/denied environments. A2E leverages current MQ-9A availability with small UAS (sUAS) to close mission gaps in contested and denied environments by fielding integrated capability increments to provide increased mission support to the warfighter.

Justification— MQ-9 UNMANNED AERIAL VEHICLE

The FY 2026 request for MQ-9 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle includes $12.890 million of discretionary and $11.990 million of mandatory (reconciliation) for a total of $24.880 million. The mandatory funds procure mission kits, mission payloads, weaponization and modifications. Further information for this reconciliation request is provided in Section 20010 (Readiness) of the Reconciliation Exhibit. The following justifications reflect the sum totals of mandatory (reconciliation) and discretionary categories of funding. FY 2026 BASE PROGRAM JUSTIFICATION: Leverages other service and activity to fielded capabilities to rapidly procure SO-p mission kits, mission payloads, weaponization, modifications, production support, and for Adaptive Airborne Enterprise to accelerate integration on MQ-9, Ground Control Stations, and training systems. FY 2025 to FY 2026 overall decrease of $0.653 million includes: $6.363 million decrease in mission kits, payloads, weaponization and modifications as these funds are being requested and included in the overall mandatory (reconciliation) amount of $11.990 million; $5.833 million increase in Adaptive Airborne Enterprise (A2E) procures 24 Group 2 ISR Air Launched Effects (ALE) sUAS units and five Group 2 munition variant sUAS and also supports increases in engineering and program management support to execute the integration of the Group 2 small UAS systems onto the MQ-9 and A2E; and a $0.123 mission decrease in production support.

No follow-the-dollar view — this program's awards haven't been crosswalked at high confidence (flows cover 17 of 326 programs). why →

Lobbying Mentions

Showing 25 of 327 from the Senate LDA disclosure database.

BOEING COMPANYUnmanned2024

FY25 Appropriations Homeland security and border security. Bioterrorism. Immigration. Aviation security. Unmanned aerial