A General Atomics subsidiary has signed partnership agreements with CAE and the University of North Dakota’s aerospace foundation in an effort to augment training services for operators of Predator and Reaper remotely piloted aircraft. The UND Aerospace Foundation will provide a flight simulator system to help train students at General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc.‘s RPA Training Academy in North Dakota on how to operate a drone, General […] More

The Naval Research Laboratory has partnered with a General Atomics subsidiary to embed NRL-built inverse synthetic aperture radar imaging software into the company’s Lynx multimode radar system. NRL and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. will work to build integrated radar technology for joint warfighter missions under a cooperative research and development agreement, according to an article published Tuesday on the U.S. Navy website. Thomas Pizzillo, […] More

The U.S. Air Force plans to integrate a system with the General Atomics-built MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle that will work to help the UAV perform take off and land automatically, Flightglobal reported Wednesday. Chris Pehrson, senior director of strategic development for General Atomics’ aeronautical systems business, told Flightglobal reporter James Drew that the auto takeoff and landing platform […] More

Chris Pehrson, a senior executive at General Atomics, has told Bloomberg Government that the vast amounts of intelligence data that remotely piloted aircraft’s sensors collect pose a challenge to the command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance sector. Pehrson said in an interview published Thursday that General Atomics’ aeronautical systems business seeks to address that challenge through […] More

The U.S. Air Force has completed a flight demonstration of a United Technologies Corp.-built sensor onboard a General Atomics-made unmanned aerial vehicle, Flightglobal reported Monday. Chris Pehrson, senior director of strategic development for General Atomics’ aeronautical systems business, told Flightglobal reporter James Drew that the service branch performed seven flights between January and February to demonstrate […] More

General Atomics‘ aeronautical systems group conducted the first flight of the extended-range variant of its Predator B remotely piloted aircraft at Gray Butte Flight Test Facility on Feb. 18 to demonstrate launch ability, airworthiness and landing capability. The Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper extended-range long-wing upgrades include 13 feet of additional wingspan designed to boost aircraft endurance by 13 hours, short-field takeoff and landing modifications […] More

The U.S. Air Force has fielded a General Atomics-built unmanned Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper Extended Range remotely piloted aircraft in support of the service’s Quick Reaction Capability requirement for the company. General Atomics said Tuesday the modified Reaper includes two wing-mounted fuel tanks, an alcohol/water injection system, a four-bladed propeller and a trailing arm landing gear system. Frank Pace, president of aircraft […] More

General Atomics has flown its Reaper and Predator drones to conduct surveillance operations on behalf of the government since April, Defense One reported Wednesday. Patrick Tucker writes that the company is among other drone manufacturers the Defense Department has hired to fly surveillance missions. The report said DoD’s move could also indicate potential plans to use civilian contractors for […] More

Christopher Ames, director of international strategic development for General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, has noted at several indicators that he said point to a “growing interest in maritime surveillance,” DoD Buzz reported Tuesday. Brendan McGarry writes the Department of Homeland Security bought a fleet of a maritime-configured variant of the General Atomics-built Predator B aircraft to aid in the U.S.-Mexico […] More

General Atomics will establish a U.S.-based training center for foreign drone pilots from allied countries as part of efforts to meet the international demand for drone operators, Military.com reported Thursday. Brendan McGarry writes that Christopher Ames, director of international strategic development for the company’s aeronautical systems business, indicated the plan also seeks to address a “training bottleneck” […] More

An independent measurement organization has tested the beam quality and power of a General Atomics-built tactical laser system for the Defense Department. General Atomics’ aeronautical systems group designed the Gen 3 High-Energy Laser System to integrate with aerial, ground and naval platforms, the company said Wednesday. Testers used a government diagnostic system from DoD’s Joint […] More

A General Atomics subsidiary has partnered with Sener to market the Predator B remotely-piloted aircraft to the Spanish government. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. and Sener aim to update the drone’s data collection technology in order to meet the Spanish military’s airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance requirements, GA-ASI said Monday. Frank Pace, president of aircraft […] More