US Clears MQ-9 Block 5 Foreign Military Sale To Italy | Aviation

This FMS will allow Italy to double its MQ-9A fleet, completing the potentiation of the Predator RPA fleet and the modernization to the Block 5 configuration.

The U.S. government has approved the possible Foreign Military Sale to Italy of a new batch of the MQ-9 Block 5 Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) on Aug. 15, 2024. This FMS follows the beginning of the Block 5 flight operations in Italy last year and the upgrade of the aircraft already in service to the same configuration.

The FMS covers the acquisition of 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 will allow the Italian air force to double its Predator RPA fleet, adding six aircraft to the seven already in service, but a delivery date has not been provided.

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…