General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) announced the successful first flight of the Block 1-plus Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper, an upgrade to the original Block 1 Predator B that has been in production since 2003.

The MQ-9 Block 1-plus test flight occurred on May 24 at the company’s Gray Butte Flight Operations Facility in Palmdale, California, with no discrepancies.

“We continue to enhance the capabilities of our aircraft, improving their performance to meet emerging customer requirements,” said Frank Pace, President, Aircraft Systems Group, GA-ASI. “The first flight of the MQ-9 Block 1-plus follows in the footsteps of the aircraft’s combat-proven Block 1 configuration and is an important technological achievement that will provide increased effectiveness, increased multi-mission flexibility, and even greater reliability.”