General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has secured a contract from the Spanish Ministry of Defence (MoD) for the supply of the Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) system.
Under the terms of the Spanish-US Foreign Military Sales (FMS) agreement, the company will deliver one Predator B RPA system for the Spanish Armed Forces.
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The RPA system will comprise of four aircraft equipped with MTS-B electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensors and GA-ASI’s Block 20A Lynx multi-mode radar, two Block 30 ground control stations (GCS), and satellite communications (SATCOM) and line-of-sight (LOS) data link capabilities.
GA-ASI CEO Linden Blue said: "GA-ASI is proud to partner with the Spanish Armed Forces to offer our operationally proven Predator B RPA to fulfil Spain’s emerging multi-mission requirements.
"We also look forward to working with teammate SENER, a leading engineering company, and developing collaborative partnerships with other Spanish companies to help ensure the long-term success of the programme."
The long-endurance, medium-high-altitude RPA, Predator B, is designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) missions as well as targeting missions.
The aircraft features an extensive payload capacity with a maximum altitude of 50,000ft. It is capable of staying aloft for up to 27 hours.
In addition, it offers unparalleled close air support and persistent situational awareness over land or sea to coalition forces.
Since 2001, around 245 Predator B aircraft have accumulated more than one million flight hours.
Currently, the US Air Force and the UK Royal Air Force are using Predator B as MQ-9 Reaper, while the Italian Air Force uses as MQ-9.
