General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has provided the US Marine Corps (USMC) with a new MQ-9A Reaper uncrewed aircraft system (UAS).
The MQ-9A Block 5 Extended Range (ER) model will be under the operation of Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron 1 (VMX-1), stationed at Marine Corps Air Station in Yuma, Arizona.
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The USMC will use the MQ-9A UAS for operational testing and evaluation purposes.
Additionally, it will aid in the development of Marine Aviation tactics, techniques, and procedures through experimentation.
This is part of the broader integration of the MQ-9A into the Marine Air-Ground Task Force, highlighting its within the Marines’ operational framework.
GA-ASI president David Alexander said: “The Marine Corps is building out its ISR capabilities with this new aircraft.
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By GlobalData“We are excited to see what VMX-1 does in terms of operational test in preparation for pushing new capabilities into the field.”
The MQ-9A ER can be retrofitted in the field, featuring additional fuel pods on its wings and a strengthened landing gear.
These enhancements allow the aircraft to exceed 30 hours of endurance, augmenting its operational versatility.
The UAS is equipped to provide persistent, long-endurance surveillance with its full-motion video and synthetic aperture radar/moving target indicator/maritime mode radar capabilities.
Designed to adhere to and surpass the reliability standards of crewed aircraft, the MQ-9A ER incorporates a fault-tolerant flight control system and a triple-redundant avionics system architecture.
In 2023, GA-ASI initiated a series of service-level training exercises (SLTE) 2-23 to further support the USMC.
This initiative involved the company’s MQ-9A UAS, joint forces, and the US Marine Air-Ground Task Force Training Command.
To date, GA-ASI has completed the delivery of 18 MQ-9A UAS to the USMC, with expectations to deliver an additional two aircraft by the end of the current year.
Last year, the company delivered the first MQ-9A ER to Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Training Squadron 2 (VMUT-2). The hand over was part of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force’s Unmanned Expeditionary (MUX) programme.
This programme had placed an order for eight MQ-9A ER UAS under the ARES indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contract.
