Page 20 - ADT NOVEMBER - DECEMBER 2021 Online Magazine

would have an operating cost of approxi-
mately USD35,000 per hour as compared to
the SeaGuardian‘s per hour operating cost of
approximately USD5,000.

The MQ-9B SeaGuardian can be configured
with cross-domain capabilities for a vast [ AIR SYSTEMS ]
range of maritime surveillance operations,
including: Anti-Surface Warfare (ASuW),
Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), HA/DR –
Humanitarian Assistance/Disaster Relief,
Search and Rescue, Law Enforcement (Drug
Trafficking, Illegal Immigration, Piracy, OMSI
– Oceanic Maritime Security Initiative) and an
Airborne Counter Mine Capability is also under
development. The SeaGuardian is fitted with a
multi-mode maritime surface-search radar with
Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) imag-
compliance with STANAG-4671 (NATO airworthiness standard ing mode, an Automatic Identification System
for Unmanned Aircraft Systems) and is one of the most advanced (AIS) receiver, and a High-Definition - Full-
long-endurance RPAS available on the market. Motion Video sensor equipped with optical and
infrared cameras. This sensor suite, augmented
GA-ASI’s MQ-9B SkyGuardian / SeaGuardian were developed by automatic track correlation and anomaly-de-
from the Predator B Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) series and tection algorithms, enables real-time detection
feature both hardware and software upgrades, such as improved and identification of surface vessels over thou-
structural fatigue and damage tolerance and more robust flight sands of square nautical miles.
control software, as well as enhancements allowing operations in
adverse weather including icing conditions. The Royal Air Force
(RAF) was the first to acquire the SkyGuardian and the British SeaGuardian Sensor Upgrade
acquisition programme refers to the drone as ‘Protector’, which is In January, Leonardo announced that it was
being acquired as a replacement for the RAF’s Reaper fleet. working with GA-ASI to integrate the Seaspray
7500E V2 radar into the centerline radar pod
The MQ-9B SeaGuardian has been designed to operate for over of its MQ-9B SeaGuardian. GA-ASI has com-
40,000 hours and GA-ASI states that the aircraft is the ideal com- pleted initial integration work of Leonardo’s
plement to manned aircraft and costs 86 percent less to operate SAGE electronic surveillance unit onto the
per hour, burning 90 percent less fuel than similarly configured SeaGuardian. This now allows the MQ-9B to
manned ISR aircraft in addition to requiring less than half the crew gather intelligence information on maritime and
to operate. According to GA-ASI, a crewed maritime patrol aircraft land-based radar emitters over a wide area.

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