Page 34 - ADT JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2020 Digital Magazine | GBP

Zeroing in THESE MISSIONS WILL BUILD CONFIDENCE
on the Asia
Pacific
GENERAL ATOMICS
AERONAUTICAL SYSTEMS,
INC. IS HOPING TO EXPAND ITS
ASIA PACIFIC FOOTPRINT
Arun Sivasankaran
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.
(GA-ASI) will conduct a number of demonstra- As a first-tier operator of advanced military systems and a nation
tion flights in the Asia-Pacific region in 2020-21
and is working towards integrated operations
in the region in the mid-2020s
. “THESE TRIALS IN THE ASIA PACIFIC
REGION WILL DEMONSTRATE A
RANGE OF CAPABILITIES, INCLUDING tasking and control of multiple aircraft, as well as automated pro-
OPERATIONS IN CONTROLLED/
UNCONTROLLED AIRSPACE,” says
Tommy Dunehew, Vice President of International
Strategic Development for GA-ASI.
“WE ARE PURSUING A RANGE
OF POTENTIAL PROGRAMS IN
THE INDO/ASIA PACIFIC REGION.
34 | January/February 2020
WITH VARIOUS REGULATORS AND PAVE THE
WAY FOR MORE EXTENSIVE AND CONTINUING
UNRESTRICTED OPERATIONS.”
Dunehew, who is responsible for overseeing international capture
initiatives across the company’s full line of Remotely Piloted Aircraft
(RPA) systems, radars, and electro-optic and related mission sys-
tems for both military and commercial applications, also expressed
confidence that the U.S. Administration’s new Unmanned Aerial
Systems (UAS) export policy would ultimately expand the list of
countries authorized to receive UAS. “This will allow us to compete
on a more even basis with countries like China. We remain confi-
dent that our systems are far more capable and cost-effective than [ INTERVIEW GENERAL ATOMICS TOMMY DUNEHEW ]
those of our competitors.”
GA-ASI ended 2019 on a high with the Australian
Defence Force (ADF) selecting the MQ-9B
SkyGuardian under Project Air 7003. How much
of a momentum does that give the company for
2020 and ahead?
that requires high levels of interoperability with key allies, including
with its Five Eyes intelligence sharing partners, Australia’s decision
to procure the MQ-9B is another important milestone in cementing
MQ-9B as the unmanned system of choice around the world. This
decision highlights the future-focused capabilities of the MQ-9B,
the rich development path inherent in the design, and reflects
the considerable interest GA-ASI is receiving from international
customers. The MQ-9B is a key focus for GA-ASI into the future.
GA-ASI has introduced many new capabilities
that considerably decrease operational costs
of the MQ-9B by reducing the number of pilots
and operators needed for various stages of
operations. Can you talk about some of the new
capabilities?
Reducing workforce demands is a key focus amongst our cus-
tomers and GA-ASI has been working on a number of capabilities
that offer resource cost-effectiveness. The P3E (Portable Pre/
Post-Flight Equipment) and XC2 (Expeditionary Command &
Control) capability enables the SATCOM launch and recovery of
deployed aircraft utilizing a small number of personnel equipped
with a ruggedized laptop for control of the aircraft. This capability
is a key development now being rolled out to customers. GA-ASI
is also working on a range of automated functions that enable the
cessing, exploitation and dissemination of collected data. GA-ASI
believes that these areas of automation offer the greatest potential
to improve RPAS utility and expand the benefits they produce.
Given the strike abilities of GA-ASI RPA, do you
think that the multi-mission capabilities of its
aircraft are sometimes overlooked? In what ways
is MQ-9B more than just a strike RPA?
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