Reduces Operational and Integration Costs While Increasing Flexibility
In late December, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) and the US Air National Guard (ANG), with joint support from the USMC and USAF, flight tested an MQ-9A UAS equipped with a low earth orbit (LEO) satcom C2 system, the company announced on 2 February.
This ground-breaking capability provides global coverage and connectivity that will enable pole-to-pole operations for GA-ASI’s family of UAS – including models such as the MQ-9A Reaper, MQ-9B SkyGuardian/SeaGuardian and Gray Eagle 25M. “This is truly game-changing for our platforms,” said GA-ASI President, David R Alexander. “Using LEO satcom not only keeps GA-ASI aircraft connected from the North Pole to the South Pole to allow operations in the most austere environments, but it will also provide resilient connectivity that allows operators to pass much more data to and from the aircraft.”
Early testing indicates LEO satcom significantly reduces latency, and can be used in all phases of flight. For operators of the MQ-9 family, LEO satcom should reduce operational costs, and the smaller hardware footprint will ultimately increase flexibility, reducing future payload integration costs.
