PARIS—Airborne early warning (AEW) could soon be a new mission for the General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) MQ-9B.
The medium-altitude long-endurance uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) will start flight tests next year with a pair of AEW pods provided by Swedish company Saab, GA-ASI says.
The pods—which will be available for the SeaGuardian, SkyGuardian and short takeoff and landing models—operate in a frequency band optimized for AEW, a GA-ASI spokesman says. The mission typically uses the S-band portion of the electromagnetic spectrum, covering 2-4 GHz.
A rendering shows one pod loaded onto each wing. In theory, the pods can sweep a full 360-deg. circle around the aircraft, but initially will operate with 180-deg. coverage, meaning one pod will operate at a time.
“High and low-tech air threats both pose major challenges to global air forces,” GA-ASI President David Alexander says. “We’re developing an affordable AEW solution in cooperation with Saab.”
The development expands Saab’s AEW offerings beyond the GlobalEye, a Bombardier Global 6500 business jet modified with an S-band, multi-role radar.
The pod could help the MQ-9B detect air-to-air threats to itself and other friendly forces. In recent years, threats to aircraft have been increasing, including the fielding of Iran’s 358 missile, a loitering air-to-air weapon designed to shoot down aircraft like the MQ-9.
“We’re also making AEW capability possible in areas it doesn’t exist today, such as from some navy warships at sea,” Alexander says.
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