Marks First Sovereign Payload Integrated Aboard Customer Aircraft
ILA BERLIN AIR SHOW – 2 June 2016 – General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA‑ASI), a leading manufacturer of Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) systems, tactical reconnaissance radars, and electro-optic and related mission system solutions, today announced that it will integrate RecceLite™, a versatile imagery reconnaissance pod, onto an Italian Air Force (ItAF) Predator® B/MQ-9. RecceLite is manufactured by Rafael, a leading developer of defense technology, based in Israel. RecceLite is currently operational on manned Italian military aircraft.
“Integrating this imagery enhancement capability onto Predator B is a significant milestone and could lead to similar efforts with other NATO customers that operate MQ-9,” said Linden Blue, CEO, GA-ASI. “Predator B’s open payload architecture enables users to integrate their own payloads easily, with minimal to no software changes required.”
The wide-area coverage capabilities of the RecceLite pod complement Predator B’s nose-mounted, Multi-spectral Targeting System-B (MTS-B) Full-motion Video (FMV) system. RecceLite provides geo-referenced, wide field-of-regard, high-resolution digital stills in the infrared and visible bands, which can be post-processed into a mosaic image in the Ground Exploitation Station.
A combined Italian Air Force, GA-ASI, and Rafael team is currently testing the integration hardware that will make this enhanced capability available to Italian operational forces. The team will execute developmental and operational flight tests under ItAF leadership in early 2017 at Amendola Air Base, Italy, with system fielding to occur shortly thereafter.
High-resolution photos of ItAF MQ-9 RPA are available to qualified media outlets from the GA-ASI media contact listed below.
About GA-ASI
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., an affiliate of General Atomics, delivers situational awareness by providing remotely piloted aircraft, radar systems, and electro-optic and related mission systems solutions for military and commercial applications worldwide. The company’s Aircraft Systems business unit is a leading designer and manufacturer of proven, reliable RPA systems, including Predator A, Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper®, Gray Eagle, the new Predator CAvenger®, and Predator XP. It also manufactures a variety of state-of-the-art digital Ground Control Stations (GCS), including the next-generation Advanced Cockpit GCS, and provides pilot training and support services for RPA field operations. The Mission Systems business unit designs, manufactures, and integrates the Lynx® Multi-mode Radar and sophisticated Claw® sensor control and image analysis software into both manned and remotely piloted aircraft. It also focuses on providing integrated sensor payloads and software for Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft platforms and develops high-energy lasers, electro-optic sensors, and meta-material antennas. For more information, please visit www.ga-asi.com.
Predator, Reaper, Avenger, Lynx, and Claw are registered trademarks of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.
RecceLite is a trademark of Rafael Advanced Defense Systems LTD.
For more information contact:
Kimberly Kasitz
Public Relations Manager
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc.
+1.858.312.2294
kimberly.kasitz@ga-asi.com