Air Force Is First U.S. Customer for the MQ-9B SkyGuardian | Aviation International News

Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

Air Force Is First U.S. Customer for the MQ-9B SkyGuardian

General Atomics' MQ-9B drones will help the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command develop a beyond-the-horizon power projection capability.

MQ-9B SkyGuardian drone — A company-owned trials vehicle is seen being de-iced at Grand Forks during cold weather validation tests last month. (Photo: GA-ASI)

By David Donald • Contributor - UK

March 7, 2023

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) has been awarded a contract to provide three MQ-9B SkyGuardian remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) to the U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC). The deal marks the first order for the SkyGuardian from the U.S. military services.

The Air Force’s Air Combat Command has operated the earlier MQ-9A Reaper drone for more than 14 years, and the type has become the service’s standard “hunter/killer” RPAS. As such it has seen action in numerous theaters, often operating in harsh environments. The AFSOC MQ-9Bs are intended to play a key part in developing the command’s Adaptive Airborne Enterprise (A2E) concept, in which airpower can be projected effectively from beyond the horizon to support special forces. A2E envisions the employment of a range of large RPAS and smaller, expendable unmanned systems that can provide air support—including surveillance, targeting, and effects—across a range of air environments, from permissive to heavily defended “denied” airspace.

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