POWAY, Calif. —General Atomics has begun testing a new cockpit for operating its Predator family of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) and could begin delivering the ground control stations within a few years if the Air Force moves into production, a company executive said this week.
General Atomics is developing the Block 50 version of its advanced cockpit ground control station (GCS) under a contract with the Air Force.
The company has flight tested the new GCS on its Predator A aircraft, designated MQ-1 by the Air Force, and will soon begin testing with its larger and more capable Predator B Reaper, or MQ-9, said Christopher Ames, the company’s director for international development.
The latest GCS offers high definition touchscreen displays and triples to 120 degrees the range of sight for the ground operator over its legacy GCS, Ames said.
“You have a much better situational awareness,” Ames said in an interview.
The Block 50 GCS is built to open architecture standards to allow for competition to supply applications to the GCS, Ames said. “That generates the best of breed solution,” he said.
General Atomics has also developed a Block 30 version of its GCS and expects to begin delivery to the Air Force next year. The Block 30 is a incremental step toward the Block 50 version, Ames said.
General Atomics’ GCSs operate the Predator UAVs, which include the Predator A deployed heavily by the military over the last decade, as well as the Predator B Reaper, which is also flown by the Homeland Security Department as Guardian.
The Block 50 GCS will additionally fly the next generation in the Predator class known as Predator C, or Avenger. The Air Force has contracted General Atomics to build one Avenger as a demonstrator aircraft and it is expected to be delivered by the end of the year, Ames said.
A key feature of the Avenger is its closed weapons bay that reduces radar signature and speed for penetrating non-permissive airspace, Ames said.
Like the Reaper, the Avenger is designed for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions as well as precision strike. The Avenger flies much faster, with a maximum airspeed of 400 true knots, compared to the Reaper’s 240 knots.