DEFENCE INTERVIEW
Line of Defence talks with GA-ASI’s Tommy Dunehew and asks about their Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) systems. LoD: Militaries are increasingly moving away from maritime patrol aircraft and using RPA for maritime surveillance. Do you see the trend continuing?
As Vice President of International Strategic Development for GA-ASI, Tommy Dunehew is responsible for overseeing international capture initiatives across the company’s full line of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) systems, radars, and electrooptic and related mission systems. GA-ASI manufactures, supports, and operates a variety of combat and civil use-proven, highly reliable RPA systems, as well as cuttingedge radars, and electro-optic and related mission systems for military and civil applications worldwide.
TD: We do. GA-ASI believes our RPA provide great options for the maritime and overland domains, both as a stand-alone or low-cost, complementary asset. SeaGuardian’s Ground Control Station can share realtime feeds, as well as share collected intelligence with other agencies and command centers on the ground using our System for Tasking And Real-time Exploitation (STARE). This capability allows maritime patrol aircraft to act on specific vessels in the full range of maritime operations, from search and rescue, to law enforcement to Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW). In a time of limited MPA resources, the ability to visualize, task, correlate, and deliver the best product to decisionmakers in a timely manner is critical to maintaining effective control of territorial waters and exclusive economic zones (EEZs). LoD: Please provide an update on the MQ-9B SeaGuardian interest globally? TD: MQ-9B has garnered significant interest from customers throughout the world. The UK Ministry of Defence selected MQ-9B SkyGuardian for its Protector Program, and recently concluded the production contract for deliveries to the Royal Air Force. SkyGuardian was selected by the Australian Defence Force under Project Air 7003, and the Belgian Ministry of Defense signed a contract for SkyGuardian in August.
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LoD: The military UAV market is a rather crowded one, with countries such as China offering their products at a very competitive price. How confident are you about your market prospects? TD: GA-ASI is the global leader in UAS. Our aircraft have been a key asset in securing the defense of the U.S. and its allies. We’re now approaching 30 years in business and with that, are getting ready to make our first delivery of the new MQ-9B: the world’s most advanced unmanned aircraft. After the UK takes its first delivery of the Protector (MQ-9B variant), we’ll look forward to deliveries to Australia, Belgium and other customers. We’re also very busy on the development side, bringing forward new and innovative capabilities, such as ASW, SelfProtection Pod, and High Frequency Command & Control to name just a few. With that said, GA-ASI will continue to innovate and build the value of our aircraft for our customers. LoD: Please describe General Atomics’ recent efforts to achieve seamless operations in all classes of airspace for the MQ-9B platform? TD: The first prototype SkyGuardian RPA flew in November 2016, and has since achieved a number of important milestones on its path to certification and unrestricted airspace access. In June 2018, it became the first Mediumaltitude, Long-endurance RPAS to fly across the Atlantic Ocean, landing at RAF Fairford, UK as part of the Royal Air Force’s 100th anniversary celebration. Line of Defence
