According to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GS-ASI) the MQ-9A Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) has surpassed 2 million flight hours in support of global customers. When combined with the flight hours of other GA-ASI aircraft, which includes PREDATOR A, PREDATOR XP, PREDATOR B Extended Range (ER), GUARDIAN, GRAY EAGLE (and GRAY EAGLE ER) PREDATOR C AVENGER and MQ-9B SkyGuardian/SeaGuardian, the total flight hours for the GA-ASI fleet exceeds 7.2 million supporting close to 500,000 missions.
GA-ASI aircraft average more than 48,000 hours per month supporting the:
  • US Air Force
  • NASA
  • US Army
  • US Marine Corps
  • the Italian Air Force
  • the RAF
  • the French Air Force
  • the UAE Armed Forces
  • the Indian Government

New MQ-9As are being delivered to the Royal Netherlands Air Force now, the company writes in a press release. Missions include helping protect ground units on the battlefield, supporting first responders in the wake of natural disasters and providing critical ISR around the world.

JH