GA-ASI Completes European Maritime Demonstrations with MQ-9B SeaGuardian

Recent Flight Series with the Royal Air Force notches up multiple industry firsts.

New Zealand’s vast area of strategic interest demands a highly capable layer of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) coverage, spanning both civilian and military tasking. The General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) MQ-9B SkyGuardian/SeaGuardian Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) system provides a cost-effective solution for multi-domain ISR operations that would ideally suit New Zealand’s demanding requirements by serving both civilian and military tasking, while offering significant potential for further role expansion.

GA-ASI recently completed a series of flight demonstrations that featured a company-owned MQ-9B SeaGuardian RPA in partnership with the Royal Air Force (RAF). The demonstration series began on 25 Aug 2021 and ended with the completion of the UK’s Exercise Joint Warrior on 30 Sept.

“The support of the RAF was key to the success of our demonstrations,” said GA-ASI Vice President of International Strategic Development Robert Schoeffling. “Our partnership allowed us to achieve a number of industry firsts as we showcased our innovative RPA to senior military officials from 16 countries.”

The flights showcased the many operational capabilities of the MQ9B, including the platform’s advanced maritime ISR, Detect and Avoid System (DAAS), industry-leading endurance and interoperability with NATO partners. During Joint Warrior, a demonstration of Manned-Unmanned Teaming (MUM-T) took place using the SeaGuardian and a RAF P-8, showing SeaGuardian’s ability to complement and support Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW) and Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) tasking, which included detection, tracking, monitoring and reporting.

Integrating UAS into Civil Airspace The demonstrations were initially based out of RAF Waddington before moving to RAF Lossiemouth to support Exercise Joint Warrior. While based at RAF Waddington, one flight saw SeaGuardian fly to Leeuwarden Air Base, taking the RPA into Netherlands airspace and proving a seamless transition between national air traffic regions, while testing airspace operational procedures. This multi-day demonstration, which took place 1-2 September, displayed SeaGuardian’s maritime surveillance capabilities in support of international allies. The Royal Netherlands Air Force has ordered four MQ-9A RPA and the first is expected to be delivered to Leeuwarden in late 2021. SeaGuardian returned to RAF Waddington at the conclusion of the event.

That important event was followed by the UK’s first Civil Aviation Authority (CAA)-approved point-topoint domestic flight of an unmanned aircraft using the UK’s airways structure, when SeaGuardian flew from Lincolnshire, England to Moray, Scotland on 12 Sept. The flight was controlled by NATS, the UK’s civilian Air Navigation Service Provider. “The MQ-9B is the first RPA to be allowed to fly so extensively in the demanding UK-controlled airspace,” said Mark Watson, Head of Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management (UTM) Service Integration for NATS. “This moves us a long way towards same day notification for ‘file

and fly’ privileges as an Instrument Meteorological Conditions (IMC)capable platform.”

A large set of airworthiness artifacts have been reviewed by the UK Civil Airworthiness Authority, which has approved MQ-9B for operations in unsegregated, uncontrolled airspace for the first time based on the suite of airspace deconfliction technologies and extensive documentation provided in the Safety Case.

SeaGuardian is the maritime version of the MQ-9B SkyGuardian® . As the launch customer, the RAF has ordered 16 SkyGuardian aircraft in their configuration, which they have named the Protector RG Mk1 RPA systems. The Protector is a derivative of the SkyGuardian, featuring an array of customer modifications.

“The coordination between GAASI and our RAF team was exciting to see,” said RAF Group Captain Shaun Gee, Director Air ISTAR Programmes (RPAS and TacISR), and SRO Shadow Programme. “It was great to see firsthand the game-changing capabilities of the RPA we’ve ordered for Protector. The ability of the aircraft to integrate into European airspace is key for the RAF as well as our international allies.”

Joint Warrior Support The flights culminated with the RPA’s participation in the UKled Joint Warrior exercise, which showcased how the MQ-9B’s maritime capabilities can be integrated with other air, maritime and land assets. An international audience observed the RPA’s maritime capability which includes a multi-mode surface-search radar with Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) imaging mode, an Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver, Electronic Support Measures (ESM) along with the standard HighDefinition, Full-Motion Video sensor equipped with optical and infrared cameras. As a result of a visit from leadership from the UK Border Force during which they observed the capabilities of the system, a Military Aid to Civil Authorities (MACA) demonstration flight was performed over the English Channel.

In addition to the RAF, the SkyGuardian has been selected by the Australian Defence Force under Project Air 7003 and the Belgian Ministry of Defence.

In support of the European Maritime Demonstrations, GAASI partnered with SES, the leading provider of global satellite communications (SATCOM) services operating the world’s only multiorbit constellation of satellites in Geostationary Orbit (GEO) and Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), and offering a unique combination of global coverage and high performance. For the demonstrations, GA-ASI leveraged SES’s GEO connectivity in Ku-band as well as X-band reach back provided via the GovSat-1 satellite. The SATCOM service enabled the MQ-9 to operate securely with a high-capacity datalink, allowing real-time transmission of sensor data from the aircraft with data rates up to 70 Mbps in secure reach back.

The multi-domain capability of the MQ-9B is now attracting a broad range of customer interest, particularly from those with significant maritime areas of interest. The very long range and endurance coupled with high data rate beyond line-of sight SATCOM, payload options, extensive communications options, cost-effectiveness when compared to manned ISR assets with similar capabilities, and ability to operate seamlessly in all classes of airspace and in adverse weather conditions are MQ-9B attributes which appear ideally suited to New Zealand’s civil and defence security applications. Whether for the Enhanced Maritime Awareness Capability (EMAC), Long Range Unmanned Aircraft System (LRUAS) or New Zealand’s other future security needs, the MQ-9B SkyGuardian/SeaGuardian is ready to perform.