Japanese Navy to acquire MQ-9B SeaGuardian from General Atomics.

According to a PR published by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems on March 15, 2023, the global leader in Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), is pleased to be selected to support the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Medium-Altitude, Long-Endurance (MALE) RPAS Trial Operation Project. The project will feature GA-ASI’s MQ-9B SeaGuardian® and will begin in April 2023.
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MQ-9B SeaGuardian RPAS at DIMDEX 2022, Qatar. (Picture source: Navy Recognition)

SeaGuardian will be used to conduct various tests to review adaptability to support JMSDF’s manned-unmanned teaming missions and its level of manpower reduction.

The Japanese government announced that Japan Coast Guard and JMSDF will be exchanging the data obtained by the MQ-9Bs operated for each of the government’s branches.

SeaGuardian features a multi-mode maritime surface-search radar with an Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) imaging mode, an Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver, and a High-Definition – Full-Motion Video sensor equipped with optical and infrared cameras.

This sensor suite enables real-time detection and identification of surface vessels over thousands of square nautical miles and provides automatic tracking of maritime targets and correlation of AIS transmitters with radar tracks.

SkyGuardian® and SeaGuardian® are revolutionizing the long-endurance RPAS market by providing true all-weather capability and are built to achieve Type Certification based on STANAG-4671 (NATO standard) airworthiness compliance. This feature, along with GA-ASI’s operationally proven collision avoidance radar, enables flexible operations in civil airspace.