DUBAI—Emirati defense company Edge Group has partnered with General Atomics-Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) to integrate United Arab Emirates (UAE)-made weapons onto the MQ-9B Sky/SeaGuardian uncrewed aircraft system (UAS).
The agreement, announced on the first day of the Dubai Airshow Nov. 13, will see the two companies work together to integrate what Edge describes as a precision-guided munition and a guided glide weapon onto the UAS.
The U.S. government approved the Foreign Military Sale of up to 18 MQ-9Bs to the UAE in November 2020. But the sale lost traction when a separate purchase of up to 50 Lockheed Martin F-35s got put on hold.
Edge says the UAE Armed Forces are working with GA-ASI and the U.S. Defense Department to acquire the MQ-9B. The announcement follows a brief visual reference to the MQ-9B in a UAE Defense Ministry video shown at the Dubai International Air Chiefs’ Conference on Nov. 12
“The opportunity to integrate our smart weapons on the MQ-9B will offer the end user multiple dynamic, highly accurate, and cost-effective ground strike solutions,” says Hamad Al-Marar, the president of Edge Group’s Missiles and Weapons business. The plans mark the first integration of a non-NATO weapon onto a GA-ASI UAS platform.
Edge says the agreement marks the first time UAE-made smart weapons will be integrated onto a U.S.-uncrewed platform, hailing it as “a new chapter in U.S.-UAE defense cooperation,” and one that opens the door to further collaboration.
The development of the MQ-9B has allowed for weapons integration options beyond U.S. armaments.
The UK’s fleet of MQ-9Bs, known as Protectors, will be integrated with the MBDA Brimstone air-to-ground missile and the Raytheon Paveway 4 precision-guided bomb.
Edge officials have not named the weapons that will be integrated. But the company has several munitions in its product line, including Desert Sting glide bombs and the Al-Tariq family of modular kits for dumb bombs.
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