STOL Predator/Sky Guardian Variant Attracts Emirati Interest | Aviation International News

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

STOL Predator/Sky Guardian Variant Attracts Emirati Interest

The UAE had tried to order Predators earlier, but that deal ended over security concerns that scuppered the country's F-35 purchase.

computer-generated image of MQ-9B Sky Guardian armed with Emirati weapons in flight — A potential Emirati Predator B/Sky Guardian would feature locally-produced weapons and the recently developed broad-chord STOL wing. (Photo: General Atomics)

February 27, 2023

Preliminary approval is understood to have been granted for an Emirati acquisition of General Atomics Predator B unmanned combat air vehicles, and the order could be for a new variant of the aircraft. This follows the apparent deferral of a long-planned acquisition of armed Predators for the United Arab Emirates.

The UAE first ordered the Predator XP remotely piloted aircraft system (RPAS) in 2013. The XP—known locally as the RQ-1E—is an unarmed derivative of the proven RQ-1 Predator A aircraft with an automatic take-off and landing system, triple-redundant avionics, and a more efficient propulsion system. The U.S. refused to supply armed variants, so the UAE purchased armed Chinese Wing Loong IIs. These proved less than satisfactory, having to operate in concert with the unarmed RQ-1Es, whose sensors are vastly superior.

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