Normal Atomics Aeronautical Techniques, Inc. (GA-ASI) and AeroVironment (“AV”) (NASDAQ: AVAV) collaborated on the air launch of a Switchblade 600 loitering munition (LM) from a GA-ASI Block 5 MQ-9A unmanned plane system (UAS). The flight testing happened from July 22-24 on the U.S. Military Yuma Proving Grounds Take a look at Vary. It marked the primary time a Switchblade 600 has ever been launched from an unmanned plane.
“This cooperative effort showcased how combining completely different unmanned applied sciences may actually present worth and results to the warfighter,” mentioned GA-ASI President David R. Alexander. “Through the use of MQ-9A to hold the Switchblade, the MQ-9A is ready to stand off farther from enemy weapons techniques and improve the vary of the SB600, which is able to present higher entry and choices in contested airspace.”
After efficiently integrating the SB600 with the MQ-9A, the crew launched two LMs: one with an inert warhead and the opposite with a high-explosive spherical. After launch, the crew transferred management of the Switchblade from a consumer within the MQ-9A’s floor management station to a consumer on the bottom nearer the operational space.
The take a look at additional validated GA-ASI’s capability to combine and function a wide range of airborne launched results on the battlefield – together with each these constructed by GA-ASI and by companions equivalent to AV – and the way their use in battle offers risk-tolerant choices to commanders in contested operations.
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