25 août 2020 | International, Aérospatial
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) is set to deliver the MQ-9B SkyGuardian Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS) to Belgium.
The company has signed a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) contract with the US Air Force (USAF) to deliver the RPAS system.
The contract includes the design, development, integration and production of the RPAS with its EO/IR video and SAR/GMTI surveillance payloads.
Furthermore, GA-ASI will be responsible for the delivery of Portable Pre-Flight/Post-Flight Equipment (P3E), ground support equipment, Certifiable Ground Control Stations (CGCS) and spare parts.
GA-ASI CEO Linden Blue said: “We look forward to providing our RPAS to meet Belgium's mission requirements, while also supporting the Nato Alliance.
“Through our Belgian R&D seed-funding initiative, we are connected with many Belgian companies interested in further improving the capabilities of the SkyGuardian system.”
The first delivery is scheduled for 2023.
The MQ-9B model is the most advanced RPAS developed by GA-ASI. The company started the development of the aircraft system in 2014 to deliver an RPAS that will meet Nato's STANAG 4671 standard.
The model is also available in another variant called SeaGuardian for maritime surveillance.
According to the company, SkyGuardian has generated significant interest from customers across the world with the UK and Australia selecting the RPAS for their MQ-9B Protector programme and Project Air 7003 respectively.
Last month, GA‑ASI renamed the industry team, including Australian partner businesses, to Team SkyGuardian Australia (TSGA). The team will develop and deliver MQ-9B SkyGuardian RPAS to the Australian Defence Force (ADF).
https://www.airforce-technology.com/news/ga-asi-fms-mq-9b-skyguardian-rpas-belgium/
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24 janvier 2019 | International, Naval
By: Megan Eckstein ARLINGTON, Va. – The Marine Corps is preparing for a high-end distributed fight inside island chains in the Pacific, and the service is pushing the Navy to invest in additional weapons and systems for amphibious ships to support this kind of battle in a contested environment. The Marine Corps is further developing concepts like the Expeditionary Advance Base Operations and Littoral Operations in a Contested Environment, but there are some materiel changes the Navy will need to make, such as upgunning amphibious ships and connecting amphibs into the surface combatants' and aircraft carriers' tactical grid, leaders said last week at the Surface Navy Association's annual national symposium. Maj. Gen. David Coffman, director of expeditionary operations (OPNAV N95), set the scene, describing a large-scale formation Navy ships and Marine landing forces beyond what the services typically rehearse today. “That level of integrated naval operations could be needed to take an island somewhere – natural or manmade. But it certainly will be required when a great power competition pits a whale against an elephant, or maybe two elephants – a global maritime power, that's us, against a regional land power hegemon with home-field advantage. In that long war, maritime superiority is necessary but not sufficient for the whale to beat the elephant,” Coffman said, noting the Marines were readying themselves to conduct day-to-day competition, deterrence against malign actions, and, if necessary, major combat operations in this high-end environment. “So what we need to do is reinvigorate naval maneuver warfare, linking sea control and power projection in order to win current and future fights.” Full article: https://news.usni.org/2019/01/23/marines-next-high-end-fight-call-larger-formations-tougher-amphibs