General Atomics - Blitzer Railgun Land-Based Mobile Combat Simulation

New maritime capability developed for MQ-9

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has introduced a new sonobuoy capability for its MQ-9 Guardian maritime unmanned air vehicle which, alongside a number of other developing technologies, could make it a contender to help fill the UK’s maritime patrol gap.

A concept was presented at the Royal Navy’s maritime awareness conference at RNAS Culdrose in Cornwall on 24 September, which showed a number of sonobuoys being released from a bay on the UAV.

While a requirement for a maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) acquisition has yet to be released from the UK government, the developments that General Atomics is incorporating into the MQ-9 suggests that it will look to offer a modified Guardian to complement a manned MPA that is expected to be procured.

The new sonobuoy capability has been developed alongside Ultra Electronics over two years, Jonny King, director for General Atomics’ UK division, says.

“What we’re really looking at is a Predator B carrying sonobuoys, controlling them, and sending sonobuoy information back to the ground station over a SATCOM link,” King says.

“The work has seen us put the system together in a lab and carry out ground testing and prove it end to end. We were ready to go flying in 2015, but the aircraft were diverted to more urgent work. So we will be flying this early in the new year to prove the system.”The first demonstration will see the aircraft fly over sonobuoy emulators that are placed on land, and then send data back over the SATCOM link to an acoustic receiver on the ground.

“It won’t be the final system, but is the first step,” King says.

In 2012 the company worked with Selex to integrate the Seaspray 7500E multimode active electronically scanned array radar onto the MQ-9. Maritime AIS and identification friend or foe transponders can also be integrated to add to the capability.

“The Reaper could be re-roled at any stage for the maritime mission, it takes about 12h to put the maritime pod on,” King adds.

Other technology developments that the company is advancing include extended-range wings with external fuel tanks – something that has just been fielded with the US Air Force for the first time. These can be retrofitted onto the MQ-9, and the sonobuoy-integrated concept was shown with the extended-range wings and winglets.

The Guardian has a 1,000nm (1,850km) range and can stay on station for a further 10h, while the extended range variant has a 1,900nm range plus 10h on station.

Meanwhile, the company is developing a certifiable variant of the MQ-9 that will be able to fly in national airspace. This includes integration of the company’s detect and avoid Due Regard Radar system – for which it has been working with NASA and the US Federal Aviation Administration – into a modified MQ-9 nose, plus de-icing, lightning protection and a composite make-up similar to that on a Boeing 787.

A prototype of the detect and avoid system has just completed the third round of testing with NASA’s MQ-9-based Ikhana UAV, and testing using a certifiable system is expected to take place next year and be ready for certification in 2017.

General Atomics to train foreign military UAV operators in North Dakota

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA‑ASI), a leading manufacturer of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) systems, radars, and electro-optic and related mission systems solutions, today confirmed plans to open a RPA Training Academy in Grand Forks, North Dakota. GA-ASI has signed a 10-year lease and is expecting to break ground soon. GA-ASI flight crew training will commence early next year and the company expects to welcome its first Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers shortly thereafter.

"The mission of the GA-ASI Training Academy is to increase the overall capacity for flight crew training on our aircraft systems," said Linden P. Blue, CEO, GA-ASI. "The Training Academy will complement our customers' organic training capabilities and fill the growing need across our RPA enterprise to address the pilot shortage."

Working with leading industry training experts, academia, and local North Dakota industry, the Training Academy in Grand Forks will provide state-of-the-art flight instruction to aircrews operating GA-ASI aircraft. In addition to providing increased capacity to train the company's own aircrews, the Training Academy also will train FMS customers who are seeking to grow their aircrew numbers to meet current operational demand.

Operating year-round, GA-ASI's RPA Training Academy will offer multiple courses per year using U.S. Government-approved curricula, with the potential of training up to 60 flight crews per year. In addition to training, the Academy also may conduct RPA airspace integration systems testing.

"We selected North Dakota as the site for our new Training Academy because it offered an unequaled opportunity to support both our U. S. Air Force customer and international customers," said Frank W. Pace, president, Aircraft Systems, GA-ASI. "Uncongested skies, an optimal training range, and strong support for continued RPA development from local, state, and federal government representatives, including outstanding advocacy from Senator John Hoeven [R-ND] and Representative Kevin Cramer [R-ND], provide a great environment to support our customers' training requirements."

Over the last two decades, GA-ASI has trained hundreds of company and customer aircrews at its Gray Butte and El Mirage Flight Operations Facilities near Palmdale, California. Opening the North Dakota Training Academy will provide an additional resource to meet growing worldwide demand for RPA training operations, as well airspace integration testing.

GA-ASI will operate from a five-and-a-half acre location within the Grand Sky complex which is co-located on Grand Forks Air Force Base (AFB). The Grand Forks AFB presently serves as the base of operations for U.S. Department of Homeland Security/Customs and Border Protection Predator® B aircraft and MQ-1 Predator A aircraft operated by the North Dakota Air National Guard.

GA-ASI aircraft have amassed over 3.5 million flight hours, maintaining the highest reliability ratings in the U.S. Air Force, and have been integrated seamlessly into some of the most complex operational airspace in U.S. border patrol and overseas military operations.

GA-ASI is working closely with the FAA, the Air Force, and the Northern Plains Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Site to ensure smooth integration into the airspace over North Dakota. The company also is involved in several internally-funded and joint initiatives with the U.S. Government that are intended to improve the detect-and-avoid system redundancy of its RPA systems to a level greater than that available to most traditional manned aircraft.