How many aircraft are included in an RQ-21A system?

• A. 4
• B. 5
• C. 6
• D. 7

Answer: (B)

Five air vehicles are included in an RQ-21A system. This setup provides enough aircraft to sustain missions while keeping spares available for rotation and maintenance, so operations can continue with minimal downtime. In practice, one vehicle is typically in flight or queued for launch, another is ready on the launch/recovery line, and the remaining ones serve as ready spares or rotate through maintenance. The rest of the system—ground control station, launcher/recovery equipment, and data-link components—supports those aircraft, but the key point is that the standard package includes five air vehicles. Fewer than five would limit the ability to sustain flights and replacements, while more than five would go beyond the typical issued configuration for this system.