GA-ASI Committed to Providing “NATO-interoperable Solution”

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) announced at Farnborough on 17 July that the company has been selected by the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNlAF) to satisfy the service’s UAS requirements.

GA-ASI will deliver its PREDATOR B/MQ-9 REAPER Medium Altitude, Long-endurance (MALE) UAS to the RNlAF. The existing MQ-9 fleet has logged over two million operational flight hours with the USAF, RAF, Italian and French Air Forces, NASA and the US Department of Homeland Security. The Spanish Air Force is scheduled to take delivery of MQ-9 systems in 2019.

The multi-mission PREDATOR B has flight endurance up to 26h and carries HD-video sensors (optical and IR), ground-imaging/MTI/maritime radar, and other surveillance equipment. The aircraft features an extensive payload capacity (386kg internally, 1,361kg externally), with a maximum altitude of 45,000ft/13,700 metres.

“We are extremely pleased to have the opportunity to meet the UAS requirements of the Royal Netherlands Air Force,” commented GA-ASI CEO, Linden Blue. “We are committed to providing a NATO-interoperable solution that enhances the ISR capabilities of the Netherlands and the  Alliance.”