INDUSTRY PERSPECTIVE
WEBSITEwww.ga-asi.comDr Jonny King highlights
the groundbreaking
capabilities that the
Protector Remotely Piloted
Air System will bring
to its lead customer
As the Royal Air Force (RAF) prepares
to replace its Reaper Remotely Piloted
Air Systems (RPAS) with Protector, the
latest variant of the Predator family of
unmanned air systems, the manufacturer
of both platforms, General Atomics
Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI), is
immensely proud of the partnership it
has forged with the RAF and keen to
build further on this. However,
Jonny King, GA-ASI’s UK Director,
knows that the resulting changeover
will have to be seamless.
“It is highly likely that the RAF will
still be operating at a very high tempo
during the transition to Protector so we
want to ensure that as Reaper phases
out, Protector phases in. We are therefore
providing an extremely agile support
solution, wherever and however the
RAF requires it. This support could even
extend to initial training at our new facility
in Grand Forks, North Dakota” he says.
Dr King is confident of success and
highlights the very high levels of availability
the RAF enjoys with Protector’s predecessor.
Reaper’s excellent serviceability is due in
part to the way the aircraft is designed and
manufactured. King explains, “We have
a very strong emphasis on quality at all
stages, from design through production,
global supply chain and support. We are
also operators of our own products so have
an intimate knowledge of our customers’
needs. With these broad capabilities
and experience we can support our
customers at every level of operations.”CLOSE PARTNERSHIP
This close partnership with the RAF
will hopefully pay dividends with the
introduction and support of Protector,
which will enjoy the groundbreaking
capability of being able to operate outside
military airspace in and among civil air
traffic. According to King, Protector’s
pedigree is such that it will also have
excellent potential as a maritime patrol
platform. “The US Department of Homeland
Security operates a variant of the Reaper
they call Guardian, which has a 360 ̊
maritime surveillance radar and EO/IR
sensors along with maritime radios and
AIS (automatic identification system),”
he reveals. With this suite of avionics,
Guardian can use its radar to search
for surface vessels and then task AIS to
interrogate and identify them. If a vesselseems suspicious, Guardian can slew its
imaging equipment to take a closer look.
GA-ASI is taking this one step further
in collaboration with Ultra Electronics
through the development of a sonobuoy
control, monitoring and release capability
for the RPAS. “With future introduction
of sonobuoys, in addition to the surface
picture you can tell what is going on
under the water as well. And by data-
linking to a maritime patrol aircraft such
as the P-8A that the RAF is bringing
into service, you can extend the range
and endurance of the whole integrated
system with the only limit being the
actual number of aircraft available.”
As lead customer for Protector, the
RAF will be in a position to lend their
experience to other partner nations who
decide to purchase the aircraft. This level
of cooperation could cover help with
certification, training and doctrine as well
as logistics and maintenance support.PROTECTOR: LEADING
FROM THE FRONT
The Protector RPAS has the potential to transform UK RPAS operations