General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper/Protector (UCAV) (RAF)

[SW1]

https://www.ga-asi.com/a-new-short-fiel ... mq-9b-stol

[Dahedd]

https://www.ga-asi.com/a-new-short-fiel ... mq-9b-stol

Ski ramp trials please then a batch for the RN if successful.

[Jensy]

Very interesting footage from General Atomics...

Mojave will land and take off from QE with ease...obviously this is not loaded with munitions and we don't know the fuel state, but add wind over the deck and a 25 knot speed from the carrier and it will have no problem whatsoever when its heavily loaded..QE deck length is over 900 feet...

[dmereifield]

But landing in a rolling deck?

[dmereifield]

But landing in a rolling deck?

With wind over the deck and steaming at a decent rate its going to come in like a Swordfish...pretty much hovering.

[Jensy]

Mojave will land and take off from QE with ease...obviously this is not loaded with munitions and we don't know the fuel state, but add wind over the deck and a 25 knot speed from the carrier and it will have no problem whatsoever when its heavily loaded..QE deck length is over 900 feet...

Painting an angled landing strip sounds an awful lot cheaper than fitting a mini-EMALS.

I think I read somewhere they were looking at folding wings for Predator-B. I wonder if the same could be done for Mojave. Once you start supporting UAVs onboard, interior space is going to be at a premium. Even on a roomy ship like the QEC.

[dmereifield]

But landing in a rolling deck?

With wind over the deck and steaming at a decent rate its going to come in like a Swordfish...pretty much hovering.

Great, but I was more checking about how difficult it will be landing with the deck moving about

[dmereifield]

Great, but I was more checking about how difficult it will be landing with the deck moving about

With the modern precision approach systems it won't be hard at all. Auto landings are safer than manned.

[Jensy]

Painting an angled landing strip sounds an awful lot cheaper than fitting a mini-EMALS.

I think I read somewhere they were looking at folding wings for Predator-B. I wonder if the same could be done for Mojave. Once you start supporting UAVs onboard, interior space is going to be at a premium. Even on a roomy ship like the QEC.

See wing folded examples above...

Here's a press release from GA-ASI in May 2022...basically a Protector RG.1 with a STOL wing like the Grey Eagle derived Mojave, but with a greater span. Should be even better STOL performance, although Protector is larger than MQ-1C Grey Eagle. The protuberance at the base of the lower tail fin is not an arrestor hook, its there to prevent propellor strikes on the deck.

Adding Short-Takeoff & Landing Capability to Industry-Leading RPA Enhances Versatility
SAN DIEGO – 10 May 2022 – To further extend the versatility of its MQ-9B line of Remotely Piloted Aircraft, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) announced today that it will begin developing a short takeoff and landing (STOL)-capable MQ-9B aircraft, which includes the SkyGuardian® and SeaGuardian® models. GA-ASI is taking on this revolutionary engineering effort to meet an evolving operational environment in contested expeditionary environments.

GA-ASI began STOL development in 2017 as part of its Mojave initiative. STOL capability was initially flown on a modified Gray Eagle Extended Range platform in 2021, but now the company will begin developing STOL on the MQ-9B, a platform already selected by the Royal Air Force, the Belgium Ministry of Defence and the Japan Coast Guard. MQ-9B STOL will combine GA-ASI’s proven long-endurance, highly reliable UAS products with the versatility to execute missions in more austere locations, opening the operational envelope for commanders across all Services and geographic locations.

The MQ-9B STOL configuration will consist of an optional wing and tail kit that can be installed in less than a day. The core aircraft and its sub-systems remain the same. Operators can perform the modification in a hangar or on a flight line, delivering a capability that otherwise would require the purchase of a whole new aircraft.

“Imagine taking the hard top off your Jeep. You lift it off, stow it in your garage and now you’ve got an open vehicle. If it rains, you put the hard top back on. We’re the same. Take a standard MQ-9B, put the STOL kit on, and then go fly,” said GA-ASI President David R. Alexander.

MQ-9B STOL, which is part of GA-ASI’s Mojave series of unmanned aircraft, also presents an opportunity for future operations aboard an aircraft carrier or big-deck amphibious assault ship. The wings fold so that MQ-9B STOL could be parked on the deck or in the hangar bay, just like other naval aircraft. When it’s time to launch, operators will start the aircraft, unfold the wings, and take off over the bow without the need for catapults. GA-ASI believes the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps will take note of this innovation as it opens the door to persistent and long-range Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) operations over blue water.

[SW1]

[SW1]

https://www.ga-asi.com/seaguardian-cost ... ime-domain

MQ-9B can hunt for submarines? How?

Yelle: It’s the only UAS that has demonstrated fully self-contained anti-submarine prosecution. The aircraft carries a number of sonobuoys – sensors that drop from the air and go below the surface and search for subs. It can simultaneously process up to 32 of them to track submarines – it successfully tracked a U.S. Navy Los Angeles-class submarine for several days throughout the Integrated Battle Problem exercise in 2021. This year, MQ-9B is going to participate in the U.S. Navy-led international exercise RIMPAC 22.

What will the aircraft be doing?

Yelle: The U.S. Navy has contracted GA-ASI to demonstrate anti-submarine warfare, multi-intelligence collection – remember MQ-9B can do signals, communications and other intelligence collection simultaneously with its onboard sensors – passive targeting, Link 16 integration with surface, air and subsurface assets, long-range fires targeting and maritime surveillance. RIMPAC 22 will also be the first time a SeaGuardian will be fully integrated with a Fleet Command Center through the secure SIPRNET and Joint Range Extension Protocol (IP based) to pass classified tracks. The aircraft is ready to go, and we’re excited to show what it can do.

[Jensy]

Press release from General Atomics:

https://www.ga-asi.com/a-new-short-fiel ... mq-9b-stol

[SW1]

Put 4 a/c on a carrier, fit a leonardo sea spray radar, or a couple of anti submarine sonobouy pod and you have task group wide asw and or aew sensing capability. With the high/ low latitude sat links and automatic take off landing you can hand off operating control to Waddington simplifying deployed footprint.

With the modifications between STOL and conventional being in kit form the pool of airframes can be used and deployed where and when needed.

[Jensy]

With the modifications between STOL and conventional being in kit form the pool of airframes can be used and deployed where and when needed.

That really caught my eye. Having that flexibility is pretty vital considering our near to medium term financial issues. I can't really see any other affordable solution to getting the sort of maritime RPAS solutions that were proposed in the integrated review before 2030.

From an industrial perspective GA seem a lot more generous towards UK content than some of the other US primes.

Not in our inventory but a couple of AIM-9X on an AEW equipped MQ-9B would give some serious bite if it were to encounter a hostile RPAS....

[Tempest414]

And for me this is why MRSS needs to be a flattop plus we need 10 more Protectors this would give many more options going forward including a Escort / ASW carrier capability

[wargame_insomniac]

Press release from General Atomics:

https://www.ga-asi.com/a-new-short-fiel ... mq-9b-stol

Very interesting.

From what I have read, the RAF's future Protector RG Mk 1 is a version of the MQ-9B SkyGuardian.

GA then developed another version of the MQ-9 called SeaGuardian with radar and sonorbouys for ASW.
I believe the SeaGuardian was recently ordered by Japan.

I wonder which would be more suitable for UK to use to complement the P8 Poseidon for ISTAR and ASW patrols in the North Atlantic / North Sea / Barents Sea:
General Atomic's SeaGuardian or
Northrop Grumman's MQ-4Cs Triton

[tomuk]

SeaGuardian is a SkyGuardian just with the maritime mission kit (radar/ais) fitted.

As regards SeaGuardian vs Triton they are of two different classes the sea guardian is about 5 tonnes whereas the triton is 14 tonnes. This gives triton longer range, faster and higher cruise and better payload but it is a lot more expensive.

For the North Atlantic or based of a carrier the MQ9B is fine. Patrolling the Pacific or South China Sea from Land bases you need the greater range of the MQ4C.

[SW1]

https://www.ga-asi.com/multi-mission-payloads

GA-ASI MPEx continually develops mission and capability expansion through rapid payload integration. MPEx develops Multi-Mission Payload solutions across diverse technology applications including:

Electronic Warfare
Signals Intelligence
Survivability
Maritime Surveillance
Tactical and Strategic Communications
Hyperspectral Imaging and EO/IR

[Ron5]

The USAF has stopped buying MQ-9's so this is mostly about GA trying to find new markets. I'll eat my hat if we ever see an MQ-9 operational on anybody's carrier. Square peg, round hole.