Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
SkyGuardian To Bring Big Advances in UK RPA Capability
While Sky Guardian will be much more capable than the Reaper, the U.S. has so far shown no interest in acquiring any.
The first Sky Guardian customer is the RAF, which has named it the Protector. The RPAs will be operated by No. 31 Squadron.
The first Sky Guardian customer is the RAF, which has named it the Protector. The RPAs will be operated by No. 31 Squadron.

Except for the winglets, the MQ-9B SkyGuardian remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) that is being test-flown in the Mojave Desert may not look any different from the familiar MQ-9A Reaper. But inside this machine, and in the way that it communicates and is controlled, there are big changes. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI; Hall 2, Stand 2078) has been developing the SkyGuardian since 2012 and secured the UK Royal Air Force (RAF) as the launch customer four years later.