Australian Defence Force Selects GA-ASI’s MQ-9B for Project Air 7003
5.12.2019 04:28:00 EET | Business Wire | Press release
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), the world’s leading manufacturer of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), has been advised that the Australian Government has selected GA-ASI’s MQ-9B SkyGuardian® variant to provide the Armed RPAS for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) under Project Air 7003. This follows the Government’s announcement in November 2018 that GA-ASI would provide Armed RPAS to the ADF. The ADF expects to take first delivery in the early 2020s.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191204005989/en/
The Australian Government selected GA-ASI’s MQ-9B SkyGuardian® variant to provide the Armed RPAS for the Australian Defence Force under Project Air 7003. (Photo: Business Wire)
“We have worked closely with the ADF to determine the right RPAS to meet their needs,” said Linden Blue, CEO, GA-ASI. “MQ-9B will provide the all-weather, multi-mission support, and interoperability that the ADF requires. We look forward to working closely with our Australian industry partners to provide a highly capable RPAS to the ADF, while creating high-tech jobs in Australia.”
The ADF joins other top-tier military forces in choosing a GA-ASI RPAS because of its proven multi-role combat performance. MQ-9B is part of GA-ASI’s Predator® series of RPAS, which is the world’s most trusted and capable armed Medium-altitude, Long-endurance (MALE) RPAS, and hails from a family of aircraft that has flown more than six million flight hours.
The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) is acquiring the MQ-9B as part of its Protector RG Mk1 program and is scheduled for first delivery in the early 2020s. The Government of Belgium has approved Belgian Defense to negotiate for the acquisition of MQ-9B to meet the nation’s RPA requirements.
MQ-9B development is the result of a five-year, company funded program to deliver an unmanned aircraft system to meet the stringent airworthiness type-certification requirements of NATO and civil aviation authorities throughout the world. MQ-9B is provisioned for the GA-ASI-developed Detect and Avoid (DAA) system, which consists of air-to-air radar, Traffic alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS II), and Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B). The MQ-9B is built for all-weather performance with lightning protection, damage tolerance, and de-icing system.
GA-ASI announced its intention to offer a MALE RPAS to the ADF during AVALON 2017 with the launch of Team Reaper Australia, a robust group of Australian industry partners. The team currently consists of ten world-class Australian companies providing a range of innovative sensor, communication, manufacturing and life-cycle support capabilities including Cobham (lead industry partner), CAE, Raytheon, Flight Data Systems, TAE Aerospace, Quickstep, AirSpeed, Collins Aerospace, Ultra, and SentientVision.
Hi-resolution images of the MQ-9B SkyGuardian are available to qualified media outlets from the GA-ASI media contact list.
About GA-ASI
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), an affiliate of General Atomics, is a leading designer and manufacturer of proven, reliable Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) systems, radars, and electro-optic and related mission systems, including the Predator® RPA series and the Lynx® Multi-mode Radar. With nearly 6 million flight hours, GA-ASI provides long-endurance, mission-capable aircraft with integrated sensor and data link systems required to deliver persistent flight that enables situational awareness and rapid strike. The company also produces a variety of ground control stations and sensor control/image analysis software, offers pilot training and support services, and develops meta-material antennas. For more information, visit www.ga-asi.com.
Predator, SkyGuardian and Lynx are registered trademarks of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191204005989/en/
Contact information
Steven Henden
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.
+1 (858) 524-8101
ASI-MediaRelations@ga-asi.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Frankfurt Higher Regional Court upholds BESREMi ® arbitral award in favor of AOP Health24.4.2026 19:52:00 EEST | Press release
Today, the Higher Regional Court of Frankfurt upheld the February 20251 partial final ICC arbitral award in favor of AOP Orphan Pharmaceuticals GmbH (“AOP Health”) in its dispute with PharmaEssentia Corp. (“PharmaEssentia”). The ruling confirms the award which found the Taiwanese company to be liable for certain damages. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260424005227/en/ Portrait Dr. Rudolf Widmann, Founder AOP Health Credit: AOP Health/Daniel Ospelt Dr. Rudolf Widmann, one of the two founders of AOP Health, explains: “We very much welcome the Frankfurt Higher Regional Court’s decision that confirms our position. In the interest of our patients, we are dedicated to maintaining stable and sustainable access to BESREMi® and to responsibly navigating future challenges.” The Product in Dispute The conflict centers around BESREMi® (ropeginterferon alfa-2b), a product launched in 2019 and developed by AOP Health into
Compass Pathways Announces FDA Granted NDA Rolling Review Request and Awarded Commissioner's National Priority Voucher24.4.2026 17:37:00 EEST | Press release
Compass Pathways plc (Nasdaq: CMPS), a biotechnology company dedicated to accelerating patient access to evidence-based innovation in mental health, today announced the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted Compass NDA rolling review request and selected COMP360, Compass’ proprietary formulation of synthetic psilocybin, for the Commissioner's National Priority Voucher (CNPV) program for treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Companies selected for the voucher program will be entitled to benefits including enhanced communications and a shortened 1-2 month review time following filing of a New Drug Application (NDA), while maintaining FDA’s rigorous safety and efficacy standards. “We are honored and grateful to be selected for the CNPV which is a clear validation of both the urgent unmet need facing millions of people living with treatment resistant depression and the innovative science of COMP360,” said Kabir Nath, Chief Executive Officer of Compass Pathways. “As the most advan
Banma Intelligence and Alipay Launch AI Cockpit Solution Powered by Alipay AI Pay, Enabling Seamless and Secure In-Car Transactions by Voice24.4.2026 17:04:00 EEST | Press release
At the 2026 Beijing International Automotive Exhibition (“Auto China 2026”), OS and AI technology company Banma Intelligence and Alipay today launched a new AI cockpit solution integrating Alipay AI Pay, enabling drivers to complete purchases by voice command directly from their vehicle. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260424618328/en/ Industry-first AI Cockpit Solution with Alipay AI Pay Unveiled “In the past two years, smart cockpits have achieved rapid advances in perception and decision-making,” said Ming Cai, Banma Intelligence Chief Product Officer. “With large models onboard, vehicles can understand user intent and make recommendations. By integrating Alipay AI Pay into our AI cockpit solution, we are removing the last friction point in the in-car smart cockpit experience - drivers simply speak to pay, no phone required.” The new AI cockpit solution initially covers two high-frequency use cases: enterta
Spatial Announces the Release 2026 1.0.1: New Enhancements Across 3D InterOp, Data Prep, Meshing, and 3D Modeling SDKs24.4.2026 16:21:00 EEST | Press release
Spatial Corp., the leading software development kit provider for design, manufacturing and engineering solutions and a subsidiary of Dassault Systèmes, today announced new enhancements across several of its product lines. These updates further strengthen Spatial’s commitment to delivering high-performance solutions that optimize interoperability, data preparation, and advanced modeling workflows. Designed to improve efficiency and robustness across CAD translation, modeling, meshing, and simulation processes, the latest updates introduce expanded format support, enhanced PMI handling, and new capabilities for complex geometry processing. 3D InterOp NX Reader Enhancement for 2D Drawings The NX reader imports 2D drawings as visualization data from NX 2412 and later versions. glTF Writer Supports Draco Compression glTF export incorporates Draco compression for meshes and point-clouds to significantly reduce output file sizes. Enhanced Support for Reading Product Manufacturing Information
Meta Signs Agreement With AWS to Power Agentic AI on AWS Graviton Chips24.4.2026 15:10:00 EEST | Press release
Meta has signed an agreement to deploy AWS Graviton processors at scale. The deal marks a significant expansion of a long-standing partnership between the two companies as Meta builds its next generation of AI. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260424641117/en/ The deployment starts with tens of millions of Graviton cores, with the flexibility to expand as Meta's AI capabilities grow. The deal reflects a shift in how AI infrastructure gets built: while GPUs remain essential for training large models, the rise of agentic AI is creating massive demand for CPU-intensive workloads—real-time reasoning, code generation, search, and orchestrating multi-step tasks. Graviton5 is purpose-built for these workloads, giving Meta the processing power to run them efficiently at scale. The chips will power various workloads at Meta, including supporting the company’s AI efforts. That work requires infrastructure that can handle
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom