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Cobham and General Atomics sign partnership for support of RAF's MQ-9 Reaper UAVs.
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Paris Air Show 2015
International Paris Air Show 15 - 21 June 2015 Paris - Le Bourget, France |
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| Cobham and General Atomics sign partnership for support of RAF's MQ-9 Reaper UAVs | |||
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Cobham Aviation Services and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) have yesterday, June 16, signed a Teaming Agreement to create an affiliation covering whole life support arrangements for GA-ASI products in the UK and Australia. The teaming arrangement focuses on the provision of support for the Predator B / MQ-9 Reaper Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) system currently in operation with the Royal Air Force (RAF), as well as future RPA opportunities in Australia.
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 Royal Air Force MQ-9 Reaper Remotely Piloted Aircraft |
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In response to the Teaming Agreement extension, Peter Nottage, President, Cobham Aviation Services commented: "Cobham and GA-ASI have been working in partnership for more than ten years to cover UAV whole life support requirements. This Teaming Agreement enables us to apply our specialist capabilities in supporting sophisticated, fit-for-purpose aerial platforms that perform special missions. We look forward to continuing working with our US partner to deliver such support services."
Frank Pace, President, Aircraft Systems, GA-ASI expressed his pleasure at the agreement and noted: "The proven and affordable persistent surveillance capabilities of the Predator B aircraft are due in large part to the impressive team that keeps them flying. This expanding partnership with Cobham, a UK and Australian industry leader, provides Reaper operations with timely, flexible, and integrated logistics support from highly-regarded and seasoned Cobham teams. We look forward to continuing this productive relationship with our Cobham teammate in the years ahead." The MQ-9 Reaper is a medium-to-high altitude, long endurance remotely piloted aircraft system. The MQ-9's primary mission is to act as an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) asset, employing sensors to provide real-time data to commanders and intelligence specialists at all levels. The MQ-9's complimentary mission is as a persistent hunter-killer against emerging targets to achieve joint force commander objectives.The typical system consists of several air vehicles, a ground control station, communication equipment/links, spares and personnel who can be a mix of active duty and contractor personnel. The crew for the MQ-9 is a pilot and a sensor operator, who operate the aircraft from a remotely located GCS. To meet combatant commanders' requirements, the MQ-9 delivers tailored capabilities, using mission kits that may contain various weapons and sensor payload combinations. The MQ-9 baseline system has a robust sensor suite for targeting. Imagery is provided by an infrared sensor, a colour/monochrome daylight TV and an image-intensified TV. The video from each of the imaging sensors can be viewed as separate video streams or fused with the IR sensor video. The laser rangefinder/designator provides the capability to precisely designate targets for laser-guided munitions. Synthetic aperture radar will enable Joint Direct Attack Munitions targeting. The aircraft is also equipped with a colour nose camera, generally used by the pilot for flight control. |
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