GA-ASI MQ-9 Reaper

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UAE MQ-9s may be able to use indigenous weaponry from the UAE in the future. Interesting to see General Atomics willing to offer this.
 

SeaGuardian Used by USN in Support of Integrated Battle Problem

In support of the U.S. Navy’s (USN) Integrated Battle Problem 2023 (IBP-23) exercise in May, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) conducted a series of Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) exercises cooperatively with the USN Helicopter Maritime Strike Squadrons (HSM) 38, 49, 71, and 75.
www.ga-asi.com
 

SOAR Pod

www.ga-asi.com

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Key Benefits

  • Enables long-range persistent surveillance of enemy communications and radar emitters
  • Enables cooperative collection and target exploitation capabilities
  • Features real time collection and onboard storage for post-mission analysis
  • Allows for true multi-intelligence target identification and tracking in real time
Mission Sets

  • Tactical enemy order of battle updates
  • Strategic long-range electronic reconnaissance
Specs

Dimensions: 125" x 29" x 25" | 317.5 cm x 73.7 cm x 63.5 cm
Weight: 634 lb | 287.6 kg
Power: 28 VDC, 2.3 kW
 

USAF Flies with Angry Kitten Jamming Pod

The U.S. Air Force flew a remotely piloted aircraft equipped with an Angry Kitten® ALQ-167 Electronic Warfare Countermeasure Pod for the first time on April 27, 2023. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. integrated the pod onto the aircraft.
www.ga-asi.com

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Self-Protection Pod

www.ga-asi.com

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Missionized self-protection allows remotely piloted aircraft to continue delivering critical intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance in high-tension environments. The Self-Protection Pod (SPP) is a game-changing countermeasures capability that enables the tracking of radio frequency and infrared missile threats, deployment of countermeasures, and real-time threat awareness and protection. At the heart of the SPP is the Terma AN/ALQ-213 Electronic Warfare Management System, which provides the interface, health, status, and command and control for the various systems installed in the pod. The AN/ALQ-213 functions as the aircraft survivability equipment manager, which coordinates between the various threat warning and dispensing systems to automatically dispense the appropriate sequencing pattern and expendables to protect the aircraft.

Key Benefits

  • Leverages state-of-the-art aircraft survivability equipment to provide full-spectrum awareness and countermeasures
  • Mitigates surface-to-air threats for current MQ-1C, MQ-9, and manned aircraft
  • Delivers enhanced survivability against both infrared and radio frequency threats
  • Utilizes both onboard and offboard countermeasures to increase survivability during entire engagement window
Mission Sets

  • Aircraft self-protection
Specs

Dimensions: 82” x 23” x 19” | 208.3 cm x 58.4 cm x 48.3 cm
Weight: 386 lb | 175.1 kg
Power: 115 VAC, 2.5 KvA

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Anti-Submarine Warfare System

www.ga-asi.com

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Anti-Submarine Warfare System​

Submarine Detection and Monitoring​

The Sonobuoy Dispensing System (SDS) and Sonobuoy Monitoring and Control System (SMCS) enable the first self-contained sonobuoy dispensing and monitoring capability for remotely piloted aircraft. Combined with the MQ-9B SeaGuardian’s® industry-leading endurance, these anti-submarine warfare systems enable persistent submarine tracking while SeaGuardian simultaneously scans the ocean’s surface for suspicious marine traffic. This capability was first demonstrated during the U.S. Navy’s 2021 Integrated Battle Problem, where SeaGuardian successfully deployed sonobuoys and detected and tracked multiple underwater targets. Integrated onto SeaGuardian, SDS and SMCS empower naval forces to continuously guard crucial waterways, shipping lanes, and chokepoints against the ever-increasing threat of submarines while maintaining a reduced personnel and asset footprint.

Key Benefits

  • SDS carries and dispenses both “A”- and “G”- size sonobuoys
  • SMCS receives and processes acoustic signatures transmitted by sonobuoys deployed below the ocean’s surface
  • Acoustic processing software generates target tracks and calculates the speed, bearing, and depth
  • System leverages tactical data links
Mission Sets

  • Anti-submarine warfare
  • Chokepoint monitoring
  • Wide-area search
  • Area of denial
Specs

Dimensions: 156” x 42” x 30” | 396.2 cm x 106.7 cm x 76.2 cm
Weight: Empty: 275 lb | Full of Sonobuoys: Up to 794 lb

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View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqNx5OQuLBk
 

Multi-Mission Payloads

www.ga-asi.com

View: https://twitter.com/GenAtomics_ASI/status/1683816953616400384?s=20
 

Russian unprofessional behavior over Syria - 23 July 2023

“On 23 July, 2023 at 12:23 a.m. (EST), Russian fighter aircraft flew dangerously close to a U.S. MQ-9 drone on a defeat-ISIS mission, harassing the MQ-9 and deploying flares from a position directly
www.afcent.af.mil
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mQ1SNW7lpmM

View: https://twitter.com/ameliairheart/status/1683855486280671232
 
They should embark a sonic dazzler. If he gets too close, fry his b***s.
That even could be a giant step forward for gender equity in the VVS.
 
Mount it on a turntable.

Doesn't the targeting pod have a laser? Can this not be aimed at the pilots eyes?
 
Can we refrain from linking social or YouTube accounts which feature a big "I support the invasion of Ukraine" letter Z on them? There's plenty of news organizations to link that footage from.
aim9xray said:
If you really want to get their attention...and then transmit a 'canned' growl on 243.0.


View attachment 704604
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Assuming the MiG's radio works.
 
TomcatViP said:

Marines Transition to Government-Owned Reaper UAS

Marines Transition to Government-Owned Reaper UAS
www.executivegov.com
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Government owned but contractor flown? weird.


aonestudio said:

Reimagining the Reaper | Air & Space Forces Magazine

The Air Force’s MQ-9 Reapers helped change the way we fight. They're not done yet.
www.airforcemag.com
View: https://twitter.com/IntelWalrus/status/1449450024073629697
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Had the extra spicy paella for lunch!


Forest Green said:

USAF Flies with Angry Kitten Jamming Pod

The U.S. Air Force flew a remotely piloted aircraft equipped with an Angry Kitten® ALQ-167 Electronic Warfare Countermeasure Pod for the first time on April 27, 2023. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. integrated the pod onto the aircraft.
www.ga-asi.com

View attachment 704124
Click to expand...
"Angry Kitten" who names these things?!?!?


Forest Green said:
Mount it on a turntable.

Doesn't the targeting pod have a laser? Can this not be aimed at the pilots eyes?
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It's an IR laser, so either it blinds the pilot outright or it does nothing.
 
Ainen said:
It's pointless, and arguably even detrimental.
Lack of armament is protection in its own right.
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What "protection"? Are you really naive enough to think Putin would be upset if those Reapers had augered in? If being unarmed was "protection" we wouldn't even be having this discussion.
 
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sferrin said:
What "protection"?
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Status. It's on counter-isis patrol, which is an accepted practice (accepted custom of the said airspace).
Which is why fighter aircraft can be unsafe and so on - but ultimately that's just being annoying buddy type of behavior.

sferrin said:
Are you really naive enough to think Putin would be upset
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I think you seriously overestimate the number of Putins in Russian cockpits...

AIM-9x makes your mission into a CAP within sovereign Syrian airspace. If the idea is that missile will make fighters behave - that's a very optimistic interpretation. Realistic one is that the drone will be shot down with armament - and no, aim-9x won't make it into a top gun.
As actually happened before.

If you want to protect a drone - have an armed fighter in the air on the other side of the border.
 
Ainen said:
Status. It's on counter-isis patrol, which is an accepted practice (accepted custom of the said airspace).
Which is why fighter aircraft can be unsafe and so on - but ultimately that's just being annoying buddy type of behavior.
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It's not "accepted practice" to damage the other guys assets.


Ainen said:
I think you seriously overestimate the number of Putins in Russian cockpits...
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I think you have a problem with basic reading comprehension.

Ainen said:
AIM-9x makes your mission into a CAP within sovereign Syrian airspace.
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It does no such thing. It would be for defensive purposes only.

Ainen said:
If the idea is that missile will make fighters behave - that's a very optimistic interpretation. Realistic one is that the drone will be shot down with armament - and no, aim-9x won't make it into a top gun.
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Yes, and the MiG-25 was shot at -with a Stinger. The outcome might have been very different had the Stinger been an AIM-9X. And yes, fighters will give a drone a respectable distance, if it's armed. They'd be fools not to.
 
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It's not "accepted practice" to damage the other guys assets in international space.
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That was sovereign Syrian airspace...
If not for that customary practice - shooting it down would've been completely fine in the first place.

And that's the whole point of it - it's unmanned aircraft (controlled risk) doing the internationally-mandated job. That's its protection - far better than trying to outfight mach 2+ BVR-armed jet with an aircraft flying at helicopter speeds.

If you want to protect the said aircraft - have a shadowing match 2+ BVR-armed jet right over the border (i.e. over Jordan/Iraq).
I think you have a problem with basic reading comprehension.
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Thank you, that's an unusual way to kick off a polite conversation.

You replaced a whole 150 mil. group of people with one person. One which wasn't there and wasn't making decisions there.
As a rule of thumb, when it comes to people publically doing such replacements, - security decisions tend to do best when they are taken without accounting for their opinion.
I am quite relieved you aren't one of them, and it was just my basic comprehension failure.

It does no such thing.
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It does exactly that...

Knowing how international courts (ICJ, maritime courts, etc) operate, it will be brought up immediately. But changing the nature of activity doesn't require a court to affirm it (especially international), the fact of change is enough.
No a2a weapon->a2a weapon.

Twice so in an airspace, where your very presence has a shaky legal justification (which specifically does not call for air patrols), and it will be best not to undermine it.

Yes, and the MiG-25 was shot at -with a Stinger. The outcome might have been very different had the Stinger been an AIM-9X. And yes, fighters will give a drone a respectable distance, if it's armed. They'd be fools not to.
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First of all, the situation was different.
Precisely the fact that Stinger didn't hit tells a lot: missing mig-25 within the launch envelope is an achievement.

The worst thing you can do in this situation is to (1)actually shoot down a fighter, (2)by a drone that is still in shape to shoot down a manned aircraft, (3)in airspace where there is nothing wrong about the fighter's presence. Be careful what you wish for.

Russian fighter was very close to doing just that stupidity a year ago - and only blind luck saved it from doing that. But it was at least a manned aircraft, with far more trackable(and thus explainable) accountability. Pueblo etc demonstrates that it still can be salvaged, thou with far more harm to the aggressor than to the victim.
It wouldn't really change the fault (because hit would've turned a dangerous accident into an act of aggression(1) with possible fatalities(2) and immediate fault on Russia), but at least it's downplayable.

You want to ambush an aircraft with a drone, with control strings going somewhere (where?). That's a super poisonous can of worms.

The moment you do that - at best, you will probably stop recon flights over the Black Sea (and Syria turns from a somewhat veiled occupation under international mandate into an open occupation, because you can't stop flying there).
Is it worth it?

But probably the situation won't happen in the first place, since the moment there will be a conflict with an aircraft (drone) threatening the lives of servicemen - as it happened with US drones before(you can't get engaged by Pantsir w/o doing that, it's too short-ranged), - it will be simply shot. By a weapon benefiting from the fighter platform and FCS. And since it's an a2a armed drone - it will be a justified action, you'll just lose more $ from losing sidewinders, too.

TL: DR: nations don't shoot at each other not because they are not tough enough.
One of the drones' best and unique advantages is that they can do such a job without unnecessary escalations. Russian fighters can hate it, but drones still fly, daily.
Arming a drone with a2a missile won't make it into a fighter, it will simply turn an advantage into a huge disadvantage.
 


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