US seeks cheaper hunter-killer drones after Iran destroys $1B worth of Reapers
US seeks cheaper hunter-killer drones after Iran destroys $1B worth of Reapers
美国在伊朗击落价值10亿美元“死神”无人机后，寻求更廉价的察打一体无人机
The US military has lost dozens of Reaper drones collectively worth more than $1 billion while carrying out surveillance and attack missions over Iran. Now the Pentagon is seeking large numbers of cheaper drones that can perform such missions despite the expectation that many will be lost in combat.
美国军方在伊朗执行监视和打击任务期间，已损失了数十架“死神”（Reaper）无人机，总价值超过10亿美元。目前，五角大楼正在寻求大量更廉价的无人机，以执行此类任务，即便预见到这些无人机在战斗中会大量损耗也在所不惜。
In a call for industry pitches, the Defense Innovation Unit’s notice described the US military’s current reliance on drones and crewed aircraft, each costing more than $30 million, as being “unsustainable against adversaries utilizing layered defenses enabled by increasingly low-cost antiaircraft capabilities.” It envisions deploying more “cost-effective” drones to “overwhelm enemy air defenses even while experiencing numerous [drone] losses.”
在一份面向业界的招标公告中，国防创新小组（Defense Innovation Unit）指出，美军目前依赖单价超过3000万美元的无人机和载人飞机，这种模式在面对利用日益廉价的防空能力构建多层防御的对手时是“不可持续的”。该小组设想部署更多“高性价比”的无人机，以期在“即便遭受大量（无人机）损失的情况下，仍能压制敌方防空系统”。
That is, in practice, what Ukraine’s military has been demonstrating with its long- and mid-range strike campaign against Russian supply lines, oil refineries, and various energy or industrial targets within Russia or occupied Ukraine. The Ukrainian campaign has been overwhelming Russia’s overstretched air defense capabilities by launching hundreds of relatively inexpensive drones and missiles on a daily basis to attack targets far behind the frontlines, while continuing to damage or destroy Russia’s most sophisticated air defense systems.
这实际上正是乌克兰军队在针对俄罗斯补给线、炼油厂以及俄境内或乌克兰被占领区内各类能源和工业目标的远程及中程打击行动中所展示的战术。乌克兰通过每天发射数百架相对廉价的无人机和导弹，攻击远离前线的目标，从而压制了俄罗斯捉襟见肘的防空能力，并持续破坏或摧毁俄方最先进的防空系统。
By contrast, the US military has primarily deployed sophisticated, expensive crewed aircraft and drones to perform airstrikes since the United States and Israel launched their attack on Iran on February 28, 2026. That has led to the loss of costly aircraft and helicopters and forced the US military to scramble to rescue downed pilots in Iran or the Strait of Hormuz.
相比之下，自2026年2月28日美国和以色列对伊朗发动袭击以来，美军主要部署了复杂且昂贵的载人飞机和无人机来执行空袭。这导致了昂贵的飞机和直升机损失，并迫使美军不得不紧急营救在伊朗或霍尔木兹海峡坠机的飞行员。
For the riskiest combat missions, the US military has sent MQ-9A Reaper drones deep into Iranian airspace to gather intelligence and strike targets with missiles. Kenneth Wilsbach, chief of staff of the Air Force, described the Reaper as the “most valuable player” in the Air Force arsenal during the US military’s war against Iran.
对于风险最高的作战任务，美军派遣MQ-9A“死神”无人机深入伊朗领空，以收集情报并用导弹打击目标。空军参谋长肯尼斯·威尔斯巴赫（Kenneth Wilsbach）将“死神”无人机描述为美军对伊战争中空军武器库里的“最有价值球员”。
Unleashing the drones of war comes at a cost
战争无人机的代价
A heavy reliance on Reapers avoids putting more US pilots at risk, but it has also led to Iranian air defenses shooting down dozens of the hunter-killer drones. The US military had lost nearly 30 Reaper drones as of May 2026, including some destroyed on the ground by Iranian counterstrikes, according to Air & Space Forces Magazine. The Air Force acknowledged such combat losses as reducing its Reaper fleet to about 135 drones. The total US taxpayer bill for the destroyed Reapers comes to about $1 billion, according to Bloomberg.
过度依赖“死神”无人机虽然避免了更多美国飞行员面临风险，但也导致伊朗防空系统击落了数十架这种察打一体无人机。据《空天力量杂志》（Air & Space Forces Magazine）报道，截至2026年5月，美军已损失近30架“死神”无人机，其中包括一些在地面被伊朗反击摧毁的机体。空军承认，这些战斗损失使其“死神”机队缩减至约135架。据彭博社报道，美国纳税人为这些被毁无人机支付的总账单约为10亿美元。
A typical Reaper may cost $30 million per aircraft, but the Air Force has said a Reaper equipped with a full sensor package can cost up to $50 million. That number of Reapers lost in combat has almost certainly increased since May, as the United States and Iran have continued to trade airstrikes and drones despite so-called ceasefire periods and attempted negotiations. On July 8, as hostilities ramped up again recently with new Iranian strikes on commercial shipping triggering more US military airstrikes, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps claimed to have shot down yet another Reaper drone.
一架典型的“死神”无人机造价可能为3000万美元，但空军表示，配备全套传感器组件的“死神”造价可高达5000万美元。自5月以来，战斗中损失的“死神”数量几乎肯定有所增加，因为尽管存在所谓的停火期和试图进行的谈判，美伊双方仍在持续进行空袭和无人机交火。7月8日，随着伊朗对商船的新一轮袭击引发美军更多空袭，敌对行动再次升级，伊朗伊斯兰革命卫队声称又击落了一架“死神”无人机。
The defense company General Atomics stopped manufacturing Reaper drones for the US military in 2025. But a General Atomics executive told Breaking Defense that the company is interested in pursuing the newest drone contract offering from the US military, and seemed to suggest it would provide a cheaper successor to the Reaper.
国防承包商通用原子公司（General Atomics）已于2025年停止为美军生产“死神”无人机。但该公司的一位高管向《Breaking Defense》透露，公司有兴趣争取美军最新的无人机合同，并暗示将提供一款比“死神”更廉价的继任机型。
The Defense Innovation Unit notice called for drones capable of carrying many different sensor and weapons payloads up to 2,800 pounds and flying with a combat radius of at least 2,300 nautical miles—or 8,000 nautical miles on a one-way strike mission—while executing the same missions that the MQ-9A Reaper drone currently performs for the US military. It envisions delivery of “20 mission-ready aircraft” by 2031.
国防创新小组的公告要求无人机能够携带多种不同的传感器和武器载荷（最高可达2800磅），作战半径至少达到2300海里（或单程打击任务中达到8000海里），同时执行目前MQ-9A“死神”无人机为美军执行的相同任务。该计划设想在2031年前交付“20架任务就绪的飞机”。
Whether the US military and companies can deliver on that vision of deploying cheaper yet capable strike drones remains to be seen. The Pentagon is asking for about $54 billion in its fiscal year 2027 budget to spend on drones and autonomous warfare technologies—an amount that rivals wartime Ukraine’s entire military budget.
美军和相关企业能否实现部署更廉价且具备作战能力的打击无人机这一愿景，仍有待观察。五角大楼在2027财年预算中申请了约540亿美元用于无人机和自主作战技术，这一金额足以媲美战时乌克兰的全部军费预算。