A $300 million support package for France’s MQ-9 Reaper fleet has grown to an estimated $653 million. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency notified Congress on Sept. 2, 2026 that $353 million in new items would be added to the case, and the unclassified text of that notice was published in the Federal Register on Sept. 22.
No aircraft are being sold. The money covers sustainment for Reapers France already flies: contractor logistics support first notified in 2022, now joined by ground handling equipment, site surveys and transportation support.
The Federal Register notice carries it as Transmittal No. 26-1G, a report of enhancement to an earlier notification. It states: “The estimated total case value will increase by $353 million to a revised $653 million. There is no MDE associated with this potential sale.” MDE stands for major defense equipment.
The 2022 case it amends
The original notification, transmittal 21-67, went to Congress on Jan. 7, 2022, with the U.S. Air Force as the implementing agency. According to the new notice, that case covered follow-on contractor logistics support, including “contractor provided MQ-9 aircraft components, spares, and accessories; repair and return; software and software support services; simulator software; personnel training and training equipment,” along with technical documentation and engineering and logistics support. Its estimated cost was $300 million.
The aircraft’s builder marked that step at the time. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, which builds the MQ-9, said in a Feb. 8, 2022 release that it had received approval for the $300 million Foreign Military Sale covering continued MQ-9A contractor logistics support for France. Troy Lefever, identified in that release as MQ-9 FMS branch chief, said the French Reaper fleet had been “a tremendous asset for the FrASF, especially in supporting training and operations in France and Africa.” FrASF is the French Air and Space Force.
The 2026 amendment adds a narrower list of items: “ground handling equipment; site surveys; transportation support; and other related elements of logistics and program support.” The notice puts their estimated value at $353 million, which on its own is more than the entire original case.
What the notice says the money buys
DSCA’s significance statement is short. “This notification accounts for requested additional non-MDE items not included in the original notification,” it reads, and “the inclusion of this non-MDE represents an increase in capability over what was previously notified.” The notice says the articles and services will support France’s ability “to meet current and future threats by ensuring the operational readiness of the French Air Force.”
The sensitivity statement from the original notification still applies, and the notice lists the highest classification level of anything in the potential sale as SECRET. The justification describes France as “a NATO Ally which is an important force for political stability and economic progress in Europe.”
The notice does not break the $353 million down by item, and it does not say how many aircraft the support covers or where the site surveys will take place.
France’s Reaper fleet
In France, the Reaper is flown by the 33rd Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Attack Wing, or 33e ESRA, at Air Base 709 in Cognac. A French Ministry of Armed Forces article from Oct. 25, 2022 describes the wing’s drone squadron 1/33 Belfort and operational conversion squadron 3/33 Moselle flying a Reaper on Oct. 19 of that year to evaluate maritime surveillance, working with the French Navy frigate Normandie.
On its MQ-9A product page, General Atomics lists the French Air Force among the Reaper’s operators, alongside the U.S. Air Force, the Royal Air Force, and the Italian and Spanish air forces. The company rates the aircraft for more than 27 hours of endurance, operation up to 50,000 feet, and a 3,850-pound payload that includes 3,000 pounds of external stores. Those are manufacturer figures.
A notification to Congress is not a signed contract. The Federal Register text describes a “potential sale,” and the $653 million figure is the estimated total case value reported to Congress on Sept. 2, not a contract award.
Featured image: An MQ-9 Reaper in flight. Image Credit: U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Brian Ferguson — Public domain / Wikimedia Commons
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by Combat Rated editors prior to publication.