Pictured is a U.S. Air Force photo of an MQ-9A sensor operator with the 11th Attack Squadron inside a ground control station at Creech AFB, Nev. on Nov. 7, 2024.

The degree of survivability for future massed modular aircraft (MMA) is a key question for the program. This month, the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) and U.S. Air Force announced MMA to replace the General Atomics-Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) MQ-9A Reaper (Defense Daily, July 9). “The Joint Force’s reliance on low density, high-value ‘exquisite’ –greater than $30 million–manned and unmanned aircraft is unsustainable against adversaries utilizing layered defenses enabled by increasingly low-cost anti-aircraft capabilities,” according to DIU's MMA solicitation. The number…