General Atomics has completed a series of railgun launch tests for its projectiles with on-board electronics. The projectiles were launched from a 3-megajoule Blitzer electromagnetic railgun June 9 and 10 at the U.S. Army’s Dugway Proving Ground in Utah, General Atomics said Monday. Nick Bucci, vice president of missile defense systems within General Atomics’ electromagnetic systems […] More

General Atomics has secured a production contract from the U.S. Navy to provide the Electromagnetic Aircraft Launch System and Advanced Arresting Gear for the USS John F. Kennedy (CVN 79) aircraft carrier. The company said Monday its electromagnetic systems group will provide program management, design, engineering and manufacturing services at its facility in Mississippi and subcontract component manufacturing to other U.S. vendors. […] 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

A General Atomics business unit and Cobham have agreed to extend their partnership to provide through-life support services for the former’s Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicles. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems and Cobham will collaborate to offer logistics support services for users of remotely piloted UAVs in the U.K. and Australia, General Atomics said Tuesday. “Cobham and GA-ASI […] More

France’s military has received a third unmanned Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper from General Atomics‘ aeronautical systems business to support intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance as well as targeting missions. The company said Friday this latest delivery is the third for the French air force and will join the two remotely piloted aircraft currently in service. Frank Pace, president of aircraft […] More

The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency has validated a General Atomics-built laser system for a series of field tests after the company and DARPA completed he program’s laboratory development phase. DARPA said Thursday the High-Energy Liquid Laser Area Defense System is scheduled for ground-based field testing in summer under joint funds from the agency and […] More

General Atomics will supply the U.S. Air Force with an additional eight production configuration MQ-9 Reaper Block 5 unmanned aerial vehicles under a $72 million contract modification. The Defense Department said Wednesday the company’s aeronautical systems business will perform contract work in Poway, California, through Dec. 31, 2017. DoD noted that the full obligated amount is from fiscal 2014 […] More

General Atomics has begun the fabrication of the central solenoid for an experimental tokamak fusion reactor as part of U.S. participation in the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor project on the potential of fusion energy. The company said Friday the ITER central solenoid is a superconducting electromagnet weighing at 1,000 tons with a stored energy capacity of 5.5 gigajoules. “The […] 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

General Atomics and its partners at the Energy Department‘s Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory have reported the latest findings in their joint studies on fusion energy and the control of edge-localized modes or heat bursts. The company said March 15 the research team found that tiny magnetic fields work to suppress intense heat bursts by gradually releasing heat near […] 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

General Atomics’ aeronautical systems company has completed the flight test for a sense-and-avoid radar aboard a remotely piloted aircraft in an effort to further the aircraft’s integration into international and domestic airspace. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. flight-tested a due regard radar on Predator B and the radar system performed collision avoidance maneuvers onboard the […] More