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
From Cutting-Edge Research to Industry: Focused Energy Plans Spin-Off of Sourcelight10.6.2026 12:38:00 EEST | Press release
Following its successful USD 240 million financing round, Focused Energy is continuing to systematically advance the industrialization of laser fusion as its core business. At the same time, the company plans to consolidate its activities in the field of laser-driven radiation sources into an independent entity under the name Sourcelight. With this move, Focused Energy is laying the groundwork for the industrial transfer of selected technological building blocks emerging from its laser fusion development. The spin-off demonstrates how cutting-edge research can give rise to new industry: scientific excellence is translated into industrial applications with strong value creation and growth potential. Sourcelight is intended to bring the LDRS (Laser-Driven Radiation Sources) technology developed by Focused Energy into targeted industrial applications. The technology combines laser-driven high-energy X-rays and neutrons in a single system. This enables not only high-resolution imaging, but
Cosylab and Heron Neutron Medical Corp. Sign Letter of Intent to Advance Global Deployment of Accelerator-Based BNCT Systems10.6.2026 12:30:00 EEST | Press release
Cosylab and Heron Neutron Medical Corp. announced today, 10 June 2026, the signing of a Letter of Intent to establish a strategic framework for joint market development to support the global deployment of Accelerator-Based Boron Neutron Capture Therapy (AB-BNCT) systems. The collaboration aims to accelerate the development and integration of sophisticated software solutions for use with AB-BNCT while strengthening AB-BNCT's international market access and business development. By combining Cosylab's proven expertise in mission-critical software and complex system integration with Heron's end-to-end BNCT platforms, the partnership aims to drive broader global clinical adoption of this highly targeted cancer treatment modality. "AB-BNCT is emerging as one of the most promising approaches for treating difficult-to-treat and recurrent cancers," said Mark Pleško, Chief Executive Officer of Cosylab. "This collaboration reinforces our strategic focus on advancing radiation therapy technologie
GlobalFoundries and Qualinx Demonstrate First European Sovereign Manufacturing Flow for Security‑Critical Semiconductors10.6.2026 12:25:00 EEST | Press release
GlobalFoundries (GF) and Qualinx today announced the successful completion of the first fully European-based, end-to-end semiconductor manufacturing flow at GlobalFoundries’ Dresden fab on its FDX technology. The milestone demonstrates that security-critical chips for aerospace, defence and critical infrastructure can be designed, manufactured and delivered entirely within Europe. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260610196220/en/ In this partnership, Qualinx served as the launch customer with a sophisticated GNSS SoC design for secure Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) applications. The QLX3xx design targets sovereign GNSS-based PNT solutions for aerospace, defence and critical infrastructures—such as resilient timing and synchronization networks and highly integrated, ultra-low-power GNSS receivers at the connected edge. GF and Qualinx Set a Benchmark for GF’s European Sovereign Manufacturing co-funded b
LTM Introduces BlueVerse™ Currency to Enable Outcome-Based Pricing in the Agentic AI Era10.6.2026 11:30:00 EEST | Press release
LTM, the Business Creativity partner to the world’s largest enterprises, today introduced BlueVerse™ Currency, an AI-linked commercial model that prices enterprise work by outcomes rather than effort consumed as enterprises scale agentic AI across core processes. BlueVerse Currency brings together the full BlueVerse stack—People (expertise on demand), Accelerators (reusable assets that speed delivery), Agents (autonomous AI workforce), Platforms (orchestration layer to scale delivery), and Tokens (compute and model usage)—into a single commercial construct. It introduces outcome-linked pricing tied to measurable business results, enabling shared productivity gains so clients can capture AI-driven efficiency value. The model also supports fungible resourcing, enabling reallocation mid-contract to evolving priorities, and faster reinvestment, with savings redirected into innovation. It is underpinned by a hybrid structure with fixed and variable pricing components, supported by use-case–
Smead Capital Management Extends International Value Strategy to Global Investors Through New Fund10.6.2026 10:00:00 EEST | Press release
Smead Capital Management, a Phoenix-based investment management firm and a leader in value investing, today announced the launch of the Smead Global ex-US Value UCITS Fund designed to provide global investors with access to a product modeled after the firm’s long-standing Smead International Value Strategy. The Smead Global ex-US Value UCITS Fund is domiciled in Luxembourg. Investors can access the fund through Smead Capital Management’s website and it is available to professional and qualified investors through the fund’s transfer agent. The strategy that the Smead Global ex-US Value UCITS Fund is modeled after, the Smead International Value Strategy, has been a core contributor to Smead Capital Management’s outstanding performance for over a decade. Like all Smead products, the Global ex-US Value UCITS Fund will be built on Smead’s eight investment criteria and a disciplined, contrarian, value approach. “Many investors around the world believe non-US companies cannot produce attracti
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