Aviation Week
• Steve Trimble
The Italian Air Force has ordered two additional MQ-9A Block 5 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems. Deliveries are expected from the end of 2027, expanding Italy’s fleet for Mediterranean intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and support of NATO operations.
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The Italian Air Force has ordered two additional MQ-9A Block 5 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems. Deliveries are expected from the end of 2027, expanding Italy’s fleet for Mediterranean intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance and support of NATO operations.
Saab says potential customers are interested in pairing General Atomics’ LoyalEye surveillance system, mounted on the MQ-9B SkyGuardian, with its piloted GlobalEye airborne early-warning aircraft. The concept would combine uncrewed and manned surveillance capabilities in a single operational package.
Fujitsu and General Atomics will examine maintenance, repair and overhaul opportunities for uncrewed aircraft as Japan’s Maritime Self-Defense Force prepares to begin operating the MQ-9B in 2027. The initiative could establish local sustainment capabilities for the platform before its entry into Japanese service.
Saab says customers are showing emerging interest in combining its business-jet-based GlobalEye airborne early-warning platform with General Atomics’ LoyalEye system, fitted to the MQ-9B SkyGuardian uncrewed aircraft. The proposed pairing would bring manned and uncrewed AEW capabilities into a single offering.
An exercise involving Anduril’s YFQ-44A and General Atomics’ YFQ-42A is helping the U.S. Air Force determine how small teams will control, maintain and rapidly return its future uncrewed fighters to service. The effort highlights the operational challenges beyond procuring hundreds of relatively inexpensive autonomous combat aircraft.
The U.S. Air Force plans to field a more affordable, mass-producible successor to the MQ-9 Reaper by 2031 while developing a broader family of aerial targets. The systems would range from expendable quadcopters to reusable drones capable of mimicking fifth-generation fighters and UAV swarms.
The U.S. Army and Mexico’s Army signed a declaration of intent allowing Mexico to procure UAS and counter-UAS systems through the Defense Department’s digital marketplace to combat organized crime. Separately, India signed a ₹1,943 crore contract with General Atomics to lease two MQ-9B SeaGuardian aircraft to the Navy for 30 months.
General Atomics AeroTec Systems is partnering with Sweden’s Trakka Systems to offer an integrated surveillance sensor package for the upgraded Do228 NXT. Separately, BAE Systems’ FalconWorks and Turkey’s TUALCOM signed an MoU to explore resilient autonomy technologies spanning anti-jam communications, assured navigation and electronic warfare.
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