General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) is teaming up with Swedish defense company Saab to develop an Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) capability for the MQ-9B family of unmanned aircraft. The enhancement, expected to be flight-tested in 2026, is intended to expand the mission profile of GA-ASI’s long-endurance platforms into domains traditionally dominated by large, crewed aircraft.
The collaboration will integrate Saab’s AEW sensors with GA-ASI’s MQ-9B line, which includes SkyGuardian, SeaGuardian, the UK’s Protector variant and a Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) version currently in development.
GA-ASI President David R. Alexander said the aim is to address a broad range of airborne threats.
“High and low-tech air threats both pose major challenges to global air forces,” said GA-ASI President David R. Alexander. “We’re developing an affordable AEW solution in cooperation with Saab that will transform our customers’ operations against both sophisticated cruise missiles and simple but dangerous drone swarms. We’re also making AEW capability possible in areas it doesn’t exist today, such as from some navy warships at sea.”
While AEW capabilities have historically relied on large, expensive manned aircraft such as the E-3 Sentry or Saab’s own Erieye-equipped planes, this new unmanned offering is being pitched as a lower-cost alternative with high availability and the ability to operate in regions where traditional platforms are limited by infrastructure or risk.
The companies say the system will be capable of tracking multiple air targets over land and sea, detecting tactical aircraft, missiles and drones. It will leverage both line-of-sight and satellite communications links and is designed for interoperability with modern command and control systems.
If successful, the MQ-9B AEW variant could fill a capability gap for countries that lack legacy AEW fleets, while also providing an extended sensor range for existing operators.
GA-ASI has already secured MQ-9B orders from several international customers, including the U.K., Canada, Belgium, Japan and Taiwan, and the aircraft has participated in major U.S. Navy exercises such as RIMPAC and Northern Edge.
The addition of AEW functionality could expand its appeal to both air and naval forces looking to enhance situational awareness without incurring the cost or risk of deploying manned aircraft.
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Post Image Credit: General Atomics
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