NAVAIR adding to USMC MQ-9A capabilities with new pods, detect-and-avoid system
A USMC MQ-9A with the GALT Aerospace SkyTower II pod, currently under testing. (NAVAIR)
US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) is testing a slate of podded systems for use on the US Marine Corps' (USMC's) General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-9A Reaper, Lieutenant Colonel Eric Duchene, integrated product team lead for USMC MQ-9A combat capabilities, said on 29 April at the Modern Day Marine conference in Washington, DC.
“We're looking to field advanced capabilities that allow us to find, fix, and track our targets of interest and then be able to disseminate that, opposite the MAGTF [Marine Air-Ground Task Force] and the joint force,” Lt Col Duchene said.
The first GALT Aerospace SkyTower II airborne network extension pod was delivered for developmental testing in March and is advancing towards a 2026 initial operational capability (IOC) date, Duchene said.
SkyTower II is intended to service what Lt Col Duchene termed ‘disadvantaged users' – marines on the front line who lack equipment capable of communicating with commanders far to the rear.
“We will connect them to the broader ecosystem at the altitude we're flying out with [the MQ-9A],” Lt Col Duchene said. “We're concerned with naval integration and naval fires and how [we can] support their efforts.”
Lt Col Duchene mentioned that the pod could connect to satellites to enable communications via space. NAVAIR is also working to enable command-and-control via proliferated low Earth orbit satellite constellations to add redundancy to communications paths.
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