An MQ-9B SkyGuardian Remotely Piloted Aircraft has been flown through unrestricted U.S. airspace by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., the company announced last week.
The MQ-9B, which has the NATO airworthiness standard for unmanned aircraft systems, was flown earlier this month from Laguna Airfield at Yuma Proving Grounds, Ariz., to a Flight Operations facility near Palmdale, Calif.
GA-ASI said the aircraft was approved by Federal Aviation Administration for the one-hour, 45-minute flight through various classes of non-restricted airspace.
"This flight is another milestone in our progression towards delivering an RPA system that meets NATO airworthiness requirements for UAS," Linden Blue, chief executive officer at GA-ASI, said in a press release. "MQ-9B SkyGuardian will be the first RPA system of its kind with a design-assurance level compliant with international type-certification standards, and can therefore be integrated more easily than legacy RPAs into civil airspace operations around the world."
In other company developments, GA-ASI is also officially opening a new hanger on Monday at its test and training center at Grand Sky Unmanned Aircraft System Business Park near Grand Forks, N.D.
Could the X-37B Space Plane be Preparing for a Mission in September
The United States Air Force (USAF) is preparing their secretive X-37B space plane for its fifth mission in early September. As always, most of the X-37B's payload and mission is classified, but Space.com has reported that the launch may be slated for early September.
The fifth mission of the X-37B, known as Orbital Test Vehicle-5 (OTV-5), is different from previous launches in that the spa … read more
