Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) such as Gray Eagle ER, MQ-9B SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian have now moved even higher on the wish list of militaries around the world with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) introducing new capabilities that considerably bring down operational costs of the RPA by increasing manpower efficiency.

Based on input from current customers of its aircraft, GA-ASI has introduced tools such as XC2 (Expeditionary Command & Control), Multi Mission Control (MMC), Certifiable Ground Control Station (CGCS), Metis, and STARE, all designed to significantly reduce the number of pilots and operators needed for various stages of operations. The capabilities, which are useful for RPA operators as well as other multi-domain Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) platforms, will be part of the company’s new Integrated Intelligence Center (I2C), a collection of the company’s control capabilities integrated and put together in a single room, which it is showcasing at the Dubai Air Show.

“I2C will rapidly transform data into actionable intelligence for operators,” says David R. Alexander, president, GA-ASI. “We see benefits to the warfighter on many fronts, including the reduction of operational cost – whether it’s Ground Ops, Air Ops, or Intel Ops. By combining XC2, Automatic Takeoff and Landing, Multi-Mission Control and our single-seat Certifiable Ground Control Station, we will reduce manning by 50 percent.”

More effective Use of Manpower

While the XC2 is used for launch and recovery of an RPA, the multi-mission controller is capable of controlling as many as six RPA at the same time. The CGCS, which can be certified as part of GA-ASI’s goal to fly its RPA in national, unmanned airspace, unifies ISR and C4ISR data, as well as mission planning into a single Common Operating Picture (COP). The CGCS enables single-seat operations, further reducing manpower requirements for missions and allowing trained pilots to be used for more constructive purposes in missions.

Metis, a map-based interface that enables a pre-approved Metis user to request ISR products from the aircraft, shares task and ISR information instantaneously between supported units, air crews, and intel analysts. The System for Tactical Archival, Retrieval, and Exploitation’s (STARE), which creates and disseminates actionable intelligence, is capable of reducing data exploitation tasks from hours to minutes; its COP shows aircraft locations, as well as ISR assets and their payload data. The new capabilities employ an open architecture design that integrates Artificial Intelligence-based functions such as automatic ISR data processing and natural language processing for automated communications.

The XC2 Advantage

In February this year, GA-ASI demonstrated a MQ-9B mission without the use of a Launch and Recovery Element (LRE) Ground Control Station (GCS), using the XC2 for its preflight checks. The aircraft was then handed over to a remote GCS via SATCOM and then taxied to the runway where the crew commanded its automatic takeoff using only the SATCOM datalink. After a short flight, the aircraft automatically landed using SATCOM datalink and was then taxied back to the chock location via SATCOM taxi. The XC2 then took control of the aircraft and completed post-flight procedures.

“If you are dedicating a qualified pilot for launch and recovery, we don’t think it is the best use of resources,” says Darren Moe, senior director, Automation, Autonomy and Artificial Intelligence, GA-ASI. “Our customers would rather deploy them for missions. XC2 lets them do that. You already have a maintainer to maintain the aircraft. Since we have the automation for automatic take-off and landing, let the maintainer do that job and put the pilot where he is better used. That is the concept.”

One Controller, Many Missions

In August, the company showcased MMC and Metis capabilities, both of which can be used across military forces and for non-defense applications, during a live flight using company-owned MQ-9 Block 1 and MQ-9 Block 5 RPA. The MMC and Metis flights demonstrated a Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 7 capability.

The GCS, which comes along with the RPA, is the ultimate means of control, but can control only one aircraft. “We are starting to hear from our customers that they need to be more efficient with the manpower they have; they want to know how GA-ASI can help them perform more missions with the same number of people that they have. That is where MMC comes in,” says Moe. “The idea is one operator and up to six air vehicles at the same time. If you are trying to cover a specific region 24/7, you will usually deploy three to four air vehicles to do the task. That is where MMC comes in handy.”

The MMC is designed for the transit phase of operations, which could take multiple hours, and for routine ISR missions. “If it becomes a complex mission, the aircraft can be handed over seamlessly, in a couple of seconds, to a traditional GCS,” says Moe.

The capability will prevent multiple pilots and operators being tied up in routine ISR operations when an air vehicle loiters in a specific pattern above a specific location. “You don’t want to dedicate a highly qualified pilot or operator to just stare at a house, waiting for something to happen,” says Moe. “Today, that happens all the time. It is a waste of resources. We should let computers do what they are best at, which is doing repeatable tasks over and over again.”

Adding New Capabilities

GA-ASI is already working on adding Artificial Intelligence (AI) capability to MMC. “We have already started to demonstrate that capability,” says Moe. “When you are waiting for something to happen in a routine ISR mission, that thing that is going to happen is an activity or a behavior. By training AI on activity that you care about as part of the mission, you are giving the metasystem the ability for that operator to register a behavior. Then he does not have to stare at the screen for hours. He will get a notification once the registered activity is performed.”

“The MMC is totally agnostic to the type of air vehicle or the data link,” says Moe. “It can be used to control RPA made by other contractors as well. In multi-domain operations, air launched effects (ALE) are often teamed with larger RPA. We would need to collaborate with those contractors to enable controlling their products with the MMC, but there are some common standards that allow us to do that.”

Timing it to Perfection

The introduction of the new capabilities, and the expected cost savings from them, come at a time when interest in the company’s RPA, including the certifiable MQ-9B – the latest in its line of Medium-Altitude Long-Endurance (MALE) Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) – is growing. The only RPA being built to be certified to operate in non-segregated airspace, the MQ-9B has two variants – the SkyGuardian and the maritime variant, the SeaGuardian. The multi-mission drones have nine external hardpoints and are capable of much more than just striking an emery target.

While the British Royal Air Force (RAF) is the launch customer for the SkyGuardian and is expected to induct it into service by mid-2024 as part of its Protector RG Mk1 program, Belgian Defense is also in line to acquire the RPA. The aircraft is being considered by the Australian Defence Force as well, for its Project Air 7003.

India is reportedly in the final stages of discussions with the U.S. for the SeaGuardian while the Royal Malaysian Air Force (RMAF) and a few countries in the Middle East have also expressed an interest in the aircraft, which is capable of a variety of tasks, including environmental protection, maritime domain awareness, search and rescue, as well as military surveillance patrol.

– Arun Sivasankaran