General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) and Saab to partner on demonstrating the Airborne Early Warning and Control (AEW&C) capability on the Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) platform in the summer of 2026. The demo will be conducted at GA-ASI’s Desert Horizon flight operations facility in Southern California using a GA-ASI MQ-9B equipped with AEW&C supplied by Saab.
“Adding AEW&C to the MQ-9B brings a critical new capability to our platform,” GA-ASI President David Alexander said. “We want to deliver a persistent AEW&C solution to our global operators that will protect them against sophisticated cruise missiles as well as simple but dangerous drone swarms.”
In partnership with Saab, GA-ASI is pairing Saab’s AEW sensors with its RPA, the MQ-9B.
MQ-9B models include the SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian, the United Kingdom’s MQ-9B variant known as Protector, and the new MQ-9B STOL (Short Takeoff and Landing) configuration currently in development.
The AEW solution for MQ-9B will offer aloft sensing to defend against tactical air munitions, guided missiles, drones, fighter and bomber aircraft, and other threats.
GA-ASI and Saab’s AEW offering will span a wide range of applications, including early detection and warning; long-range detection and tracking; and simultaneous target tracking and flexible combat system integration — all over line-of-sight and SATCOM connectivity.