“We look forward to continuing collaboration with the U.S. The successful completion of this testing paves the way for future development of more Anti-Submarine Warfare capabilities from our MQ-9s,” said General Atomics’ President.
![general atomics general atomics](https://d3lcr32v2pp4l1.cloudfront.net/Pictures/480xany/2/3/9/79239_newgeneralatomicsairlaunchedeffectcgeneralatomic_69416.jpg)
![general atomics general atomics](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/PmR6o6vRsgM/maxresdefault.jpg)
“This demonstration is a first for airborne ASW. Navy, under a CRADA with Naval Air Systems Command, for the new MQ-9B SeaGuardian. This capability is being developed in partnership with the U.S. Navy Pacific test range, where the MQ-9A Block 5 demonstrated an ‘A’ size sonobuoy carriage, release, process and control. According to GA, the test happened on November 24 on an unspecified U.S. (Photo: GA-ASI)Īnother interesting test saw the Reaper performing an unusual mission, testing the world’s first self-contained Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) capability for an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). The MQ-9A flying with the pneumatic sonobuoy dispenser system during the demonstration.
GENERAL ATOMICS MANUAL
The AN/ALQ-213 can operate both in manual and automatic mode, however GA explicitly mentioned that it was set to automatically dispense the appropriate sequencing pattern and expendables to protect the MQ-9, reducing the crew’s workload. The RWR, DAIRCM and ALE-47 are managed by the Terma AN/ALQ-213 Electronic Warfare Management System (the same system also used on the F-16 and other US-made aircraft), which provides the interface, health, status, and command and control for the various systems installed in the pod. In addition to the aforementioned AN/ALR-69A(V) RWR, the pod has been integrated with the Leonardo DRS AN/AAQ-45 Distributed Aperture Infrared Countermeasure (DAIRCM) System, for IR missile detection, and the BAE Systems ALE-47 Countermeasures Dispenser System, the standard chaff and flares dispenser used on US-built aircraft.Īn interesting note added by GA is that the ALE-47 was used to demonstrate the employment also of Radio Frequency (RF) countermeasures, specifically the Leonardo BriteCloud Expendable Active Decoy (EAD), a self-contained Digital Radio Frequency Memory (DRFM)-based expendable decoy that has been designed to be employed like standard chaff and flares, without the need of additional equipment or modifications to the aircraft. The Self-Protection Pod provides, according to the press release, full-spectrum awareness and countermeasures. “GA-ASI is committed to expanding the mission envelope of the MQ-9 to enable not only the warfighters’ needs of today, but also to ensure the platform remains a survivable, capable, and highly adaptable platform for the future fight.”
![general atomics general atomics](https://tvd.im/uploads456/posts/2020/04/general-atomics-avenger-predator-c_4.jpg)
“Threat awareness and survivability are critical capabilities needed to enable the MQ-9 to operate in a contested environment,” said GA-ASI President, David R. In 2017, GA tested a similarly shaped pod, but that time it was equipped only with a Raytheon AN/ALR-69A(V) Radar Warning Receiver (RWR) to demonstrate the radar threat detection capability for future development and its utility to enhance aircrew situational awareness. During the test, the MQ-9 was able to successfully employ the Electronic Warfare (EW) pod to track Radio Frequency (RF) and Infrared (IR) missile threats, deploy countermeasures, and provide real-time threat awareness and protection in a simulated contested environment.