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- Birds of Goodness executes 36th humanitarian aid airdrop in north Gaza
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2020-05-03
GA-ASI Flies First Production-Representative SkyGuardian
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) recently completed the first production-representative MQ-9B SkyGuardian Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA). The first flight of the aircraft took place on March 30, at GA-ASI’s Flight Operations Facility in El Mirage, California, U.S.
“With first flight of the production-representative aircraft, we remain on schedule for delivering MQ-9B Protector to the UK’s Royal Air Force (RAF),” said Linden Blue, CEO, GA-ASI. Protector RG Mk1 is being procured for the RAF configuration of SkyGuardian. “Protector revolutionises the long-endurance RPA market by providing true all-weather capability, and NATO-standard Type-Certification to enable flexible operations in civil airspace,” added Blue.
The new SkyGuardian, known within GA-ASI as BC03, is being utilised for ground and flight testing to collect airworthiness certification data starting with flight loads and aircraft performance testing. The results from the tests will form the Type Certification Exposition required to achieve the Military Type Certificate for the Protector platform.
“As the lead customer, we are tracking all of the important developments of this ground-breaking, remotely-piloted aircraft,” said RAF Group Captain Shaun Gee, Protector RG Mk1 Programme Director. “The Military Type Certificate is a particularly important milestone because it’s a foundational step towards the Protector RPA being approved to fly in unsegregated airspace.”
The multi-mission MQ-9B is built for all-weather performance with lightning protection, damage tolerance, and a de-icing system. SkyGuardian, as well as the maritime SeaGuardian, features a GA-ASI-developed Detect and Avoid System (DAAS).
According to GA-ASI President David R. Alexander, BC03 will be followed by BC04 (also known as UK1), which will be the first Protector aircraft to be delivered to the RAF. “Production has already begun on BC04 and prior to delivery, it will be used for Combined System Test and weapons testing,” highlighted Alexander.
In addition to the RAF, MQ-9B has been selected by the Australian Government for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) under Project Air 7003. The Government of Belgium has also approved Belgian Defense to negotiate the acquisition of GA-ASI’s MQ-9B.
SkyGuardian Participates in NASA Demonstration
On April 3, GA‑ASI flew its SkyGuardian RPA in the skies above Southern California as part of a joint flight demonstration with NASA. The company was selected to participate in NASA’s Systems Integration and Operationalization (SIO) activity, which includes multiple flight demonstrations focusing on different types of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and their respective flight environments. GA-ASI and NASA have worked collaboratively since 2014 to prove the safety of flying large UAS in the National Airspace System (NAS).
GA-ASI demonstrated ways in which SkyGuardian can be used for a variety of commercial and public services applications, using its onboard sensors. Services featured in the demo included inspections of hundreds of miles of rail, power line, communication and canal infrastructure, agriculture monitoring and topological surveys, as well as wildfire and flood monitoring.
“Our work with NASA is opening the eyes of regulators to the safety and utility of unmanned aircraft systems in the performance of certain tasks for public and commercial good,” said Blue. “Our aircraft have already played important roles during crisis management events such as wildfire containment. Our airborne sensors can see through thick smoke, enabling us to inform ground personnel about the locations of fire lines so they can deploy resources efficiently. The SIO demonstration highlighted how the aircraft can be used for many other civilian and commercial missions.”
After taking off from GA-ASI’s Gray Butte Flight Operations Facility near Palmdale, California, SkyGuardian flew through the NAS in Southern California towards Yuma, Arizona, while being operated by a remote pilot based at Gray Butte.
The pilot used the DAAS to provide situational awareness of air traffic near the UAS. The DAAS includes a Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS II) used in manned aircraft that fly in civil airspace. It also has an air-to-air, “Due Regard” Radar to provide detection and tracking capability of any nearby aircraft, which may not have active transponders. Using the DAAS, the remote pilot was able to “see” and navigate around airborne traffic just like an airborne pilot.
The pilot used the DAAS to provide situational awareness of air traffic near the UAS. The DAAS includes a Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS II) used in manned aircraft that fly in civil airspace. It also has an air-to-air, “Due Regard” Radar to provide detection and tracking capability of any nearby aircraft, which may not have active transponders. Using the DAAS, the remote pilot was able to “see” and navigate around airborne traffic just like an airborne pilot.
“NASA’s goal to help accelerate routine UAS operations into the national airspace has moved one step closer with this successful flight demo,” said Mauricio Rivas, UAS integration in the NAS project manager at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center. “Our efforts with General Atomics and our other SIO industry partners will help commercial UAS move closer towards certification.”
GA-ASI’s technology partners for the demonstration included Honeywell (supplied the TCAS II for the DAAS), and Collins Aerospace for the Command and Non-Payload Communications (CNPC) datalink radios, which is part of the Command and Control datalinks system.
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