Capabilities

THE COMPANY

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), an affiliate of privately-held General Atomics, is a leading manufacturer of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and tactical reconnaissance radars. The company’s Aircraft Systems Group is a leading designer and manufacturer of proven, reliable UAS and provides pilot training and support services for UAS field operations. The Reconnaissance Systems Group designs, manufactures, and integrates the Lynx® SAR/GMTI radar onto both manned and unmanned aircraft, as well as the integrated Magnum (Raptor View) high-resolution EO/IR sensor package.

Leading the industry to new levels of performance, reliability, and operational capability since its establishment in 1993, GA-ASI has expanded the acceptance and application of UAS within the United States and among allied forces around the globe. The company is dedicated to providing long-endurance, mission-capable aircraft with the integrated sensor and data link systems required to deliver persistent situational awareness and rapid strike capabilities.

UNMANNED AIRCRAFT SYSTEMS

GA-ASI is revolutionizing aviation by expanding the capabilities of UAS, making them viable alternatives to manned aircraft for a variety of missions. The company continues to push the envelope with innovative high-tech UAS solutions that have produced an ever-growing line of versatile, reliable, cost-effective, and combat-proven aircraft. Proven systems include the long-loiter, large payload capacity I-GNAT series; Predator, a growth evolution of the GNAT series and the most combat-proven UAS in the world; the company-developed turboprop-powered Predator B, designed to expand the mission performance and capability of Predator; Sky Warrior, another Predator derivative intended to meet the U.S. Army’s Extended Range/Multi-Purpose (ER/MP) requirement for persistent ISR and tactical strike operations; and Mariner, the altitude-agile Predator B derivative designed to perform long-endurance maritime ISR missions.

CONTROL STATIONS

GA-ASI manufactures a variety of solid-state digital ground control stations (GCS) featuring high mobility and portability that are in operation around the world today. These stations allow direct, real-time control of the aircraft and have onboard sensors that provide intelligence to customers located on any land base, in any aircraft, or on any ship anywhere in the world.

TACTICAL RECONNAISSANCE RADARS: SAR/GMTI

To provide total situational awareness to military decision-makers, GA-ASI manufactures airborne sensor packages specially designed to enhance ISR capability of manned and unmanned aircraft systems. These include the world class Lynx SAR/GMTI radar with high-resolution and long-range, wide-area surveillance capability. The company also designs and provides integrated sensor packages that include both SAR/GMTI and high-resolution EO/IR sensors with a common workstation that uses the GA-ASI-developed CLAW sensor control and image exploitation software suite.

PREDATOR UAS SERIES GUIDANCE AND CONTROL

Predator UAS series aircraft routinely conduct real-time missions via a pilot and sensor operator that are housed in a Ground Control Station (GCS). In operation around the world today, the GCS features high mobility and portability, allowing direct control of the UAS and may be located on a land base, in an aircraft, or on a ship anywhere in the world. A typical GCS consists of two identical Pilot/Payload Operator (PPO) workstations that incorporate control consoles and operator displays, allowing operators to control/monitor the aircraft, payloads, and aircraft subsystems. PPO workstations are redundant and interoperable with all Predator series aircraft. Multi-function workstations (MFW) support data exploitation and other payloads.

Predator series aircraft are capable of flying missions autonomously under the control of an onboard suite of redundant computers and sensors. These missions are pre-programmed by operators in the GCS and are initiated by an operator once the aircraft is airborne. Most missions, however, are flown real-time under the control of the pilot and sensor operator in the GCS. For all missions, the pilot is responsible for landing the aircraft following mission completion.

Communication data links enable GCS operators to uplink control commands and downlink payload imagery and telemetry data from the aircraft. The C-band line-of-sight (LOS) data link allows direct control at ranges up to 150 nautical miles. Aircraft control can be passed to another GCS. Alternatively, a Ku-band beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) satellite communication (SATCOM) data link enables Predator series aircraft to be controlled from anywhere in the world. For example, U.S. Air Force MQ-1 Predators and MQ-9 Reapers are routinely operated worldwide from GCS located at a USAF base near Las Vegas, Nevada. This is accomplished by beaming commands from the GCS to the aircraft via its satellite data link. The aircraft then transmits images and information back to the GCS sensor operator for dissemination.

Currently in development, GA-ASI’s next generation Advanced Cockpit GCS will be equipped with numerous new features designed to improve GCS operator efficiency and increase situational awareness. It includes 3-D maps, intuitive touch screen technology, ergonomic design, and wrap-around synthetic vision.

GA-ASI also manufactures a Remote Video Terminal (RVT) that provides real-time imagery directly from the aircraft to warfighters in the field, on ships, or in the air.