The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force has chosen the SeaGuardian remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) for its Long Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle program.
The decision comes after the aircraft underwent trials to assess its capabilities to support manned-unmanned teaming missions as part of the Medium-Altitude, Long Endurance RPA System Trial Operations Project last year.
Meanwhile, the Japanese Coast Guard (JCG) has already been operating SeaGuardian drones since 2022 to conduct search and rescue, disaster response, and maritime law enforcement.
The JCG has procured two more drones in August 2024 and awaits their scheduled delivery by 2025.
Specifications
The General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. MQ-9B SeaGuardian features the company’s Optix+ software suite, which rapidly collects and correlates data from multiple sources, in addition to a multi-mode 360-degree maritime surface search radar and a Lynx multi-mode radar.
It measures 38 feet (11.7 meters) long with a 79-foot (24-meter) wingspan.
With a maximum gross takeoff weight of 12,500 pounds (5,670 kilograms) and fuel capacity of 6,000 pounds (2,721 kilograms), the SeaGuardian is powered by the Honeywell TPE331-10 Turboprop engine.
It can fly at a maximum altitude of above 40,000 feet (12,200 meters).
Depending on its configuration, it has an endurance of more than 30 hours and a range of beyond 5,000 nautical miles (5,753.9 miles/9,260 kilometers).
The SeaGuardian also features an open and modular payload mission management system, so operators can equip it with various mission kits, including anti-submarine warfare, tactical and strategic signals intelligence, airborne early warning, and a communications gateway/relay.
In July this year, General Atomics and Lockheed Martin partnered to develop a network-enabled weapons capability to enhance the aircraft’s long-range precision targeting, particularly against moving targets.
