General Atomics Eyes Standoff Weapons Capability For MQ-9 SkyGuardian

RIYADH—General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) will explore the integration of long-range standoff weapons on the MQ-9B SkyGuardian uncrewed aircraft system as it looks to broaden the scope of roles it performs.

The SkyGuardian—the latest version of the MQ-9 family—is often associated with short-range laser-guided precision munitions for close air support, but with the platform increasingly being adopted for maritime surveillance and anti-submarine warfare, the airframer believes there is a role for the aircraft in the long-range deep-strike role carrying weapons such as the Lockheed Martin Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile and Long Range Anti-Ship Missile, as well as the Kongsberg/Raytheon Joint Strike Missile. It plans to reveal more detail about the plans at the Air and Space Forces Association Warfare Symposium later this month.

“This aircraft can carry a lot, it can fly a lot and fly with a lot of endurance, and we think it can perform super-long-range counter surface missions … to the tune of Darwin to Taipei,” David Alexander, GA-ASI president, told Aviation Week. No flights or fit checks have been performed with these weapons, but the company plans to fly with one of the three.

“We’ve done all the performance analysis to fit checks, but this is a proven platform, we know what it can do,” he added.

The ability to carry such large weaponry will be an additional feather in the cap for the aircraft that continues to generate significant interest here in the Middle East.

So far, the only contract signed for the MQ-9B in the region is with Qatar, but there is significant interest from both Saudi Arabia and United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Alexander is keen to replicate the kind of “business relationships” the company has already matured in the UAE here in Saudi Arabia. The UAE has been flying the RQ-1 Predator XP for the last decade and the company has built close relations with companies like Edge and Calidus. Last month GA-ASI signed agreements with Calidus on potential co-production of the Gambit collaborative combat aircraft being developed for the U.S. Air Force. Alexander said GA-ASI would like to achieve similar things here in Saudi Arabia given the local interest in that capability.

Alexander said he was bullish on the global interest in the Gambit family and decided to launch production of the platform at its own financial risk, with development and production being focused at the company’s Grey Butte facility in California. “We finance our customers' production lines before we have a contract to do so,” Alexander said. “We do that so we have continuous learning curve and speed of delivery.”

Company officials say the approach aligns with the U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s vision for an “arsenal of freedom,” establishing what he called a “wartime-like industrial base that focuses on speed and volume through reliable demand and adaptable business practices.”

“We’ve been doing that all along,” Alexander said.