General Atomics‘ aeronautics systems business announced it will fly its MQ-9B SkyGuardian remotely-piloted aircraft from Grand Folks, N.D. to Gloucestershire, England, marking the first trans-Atlantic flight of a medium-altitude, long-endurance RPA.
The company said Monday it will leverage Inmarsat‘s SwiftBroadband satellite to control and configure the functions of the aircraft.
After the flight, the RPA will be displayed at the Royal International Air Tattoo airshow in Fairford, England.
The U.K. air force has been using MQ-9 variants for over 10 years, and seeks to use the SkyGuardian for the PROTECTOR RG Mk1 program which aims to bolster surveillance and precision strike capacities.