By Kamal Shah
General Atomics is actively expanding its support network in India by forging partnerships with prominent Indian companies, including Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bharat Forge Aerospace, 114ai, and 3rdiTech. These collaborations enhance the capabilities of General Atomics’ aircraft and align with India’s Atmanirbhar initiative, fostering growth in the domestic aerospace sector. A notable partnership announced in 2023 involves HAL, which will assist in developing a comprehensive maintenance, repair, and overhaul (MRO) program for turbo-propeller engines used in General Atomics’ Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA). In an exclusive interview with Indian Aerospace & Defence, Dr. Vivek Lall, Chief Executive, General Atomics Global Corporation talks extensively about the MQ-9B, a versatile and high-demand aircraft that offers unparalleled operational capabilities, including extended range, diverse mission adaptability, and advanced sensing technologies. It supports various applications, from search and rescue to maritime surveillance, and integrates seamlessly with General Atomics’ Optix+ software, enhancing real-time data analysis and operational efficiency. Overall, the future of India’s aerospace industry appears promising, bolstered by these strategic partnerships and innovative technologies.
Q. General Atomics has been actively engaging with India in defence and technology. Could you share insights into how the MQ-9B aligns with India’s strategic and operational goals, particularly under the Make in India and Atmanirbhar Bharat (self-reliant India) initiatives?
A. As General Atomics is building its support network within India, we’re also reaching out to the Indian high-tech sector. In the recent past, we have announced partnerships with Indian companies such as Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), Bharat Forge Aerospace, 114ai and 3rdiTech. Not only do these partnerships enhance our aircraft, but they also support India’s Atmanirbhar initiative, which will continue to drive India’s aerospace industry to new heights. This is all to say: the state of India’s aerospace industry is strong, and I can’t wait to see what the future will bring.
Q. As India is acquiring the MQ-9B, what plans does General Atomics have to establish local partnerships, manufacturing capabilities, or MRO facilities in India to support the drone’s lifecycle and enhance India’s UAV ecosystem?
A. We are having ongoing discussions in this area. One that we announced in 2023 is our partnership with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) to use the HAL Engine Division at Bengaluru to support turbo-propeller engines. HAL is the foremost Indian public sector Aerospace and Defence agency, and its vast experience in the domain of aero-engine technology makes it our natural partner for GA in India. Though the turboprop engine fitted onboard the Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) produced by GA looks similar to other commercial engines in its category, ours is unique in its configuration and operation and requires special training and equipment to maintain, repair and overhaul. So, we are working with HAL to formulate a comprehensive engine MRO program for upcoming RPA projects.
Q. The MQ-9B is often called a game-changer in unmanned aerial systems. Could you elaborate on its most advanced features and what sets it apart from other UAVs?
A. MQ-9B enables its Indian military users to fly farther than anything else in this category, spend more time in the air and handle a greater diversity of missions than any other similar aircraft. The SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian deliver full-motion video in virtually any conditions, day or night, as well as other kinds of detailed sensing with their onboard systems.
The aircraft also can carry a wide variety of specialist payloads if they must adapt to a specific mission. A SkyGuardian becomes a SeaGuardian, for example, when it carries a 360-degree maritime search radar that gives users a quality of maritime domain awareness they can’t achieve any other way. Artificial intelligence, machine learning and other sophisticated technologies help unlock the rich feed of insight from these aircraft, analyze it and distribute it to those who need it to make quick decisions.
Other payloads include communications relays – so the aircraft can serve as a node connecting forces over land or sea – or other intelligence, surveillance, or military systems. These aircraft can conduct search and rescue, help fight wildfires, support customs authorities, augment naval forces and take many other tasks.
In short, MQ-9B is the premier multi-role, long-endurance remotely piloted aircraft in the world today. It is in high demand. The U.S., Japan, Belgium, Great Britain, and several other nations are either flying or are on track to fly soon.
Q. In a world focused on joint operations, how does the MQ-9B integrate with allied platforms and contribute to a network-centric operational strategy?
A. One great example of how MQ-9B capabilities integrate with other products is our Optix+, a GA product that gathers information from the SeaGuardian sensors – as well as data from other sources – and displays the full picture of surveillance information for its operator. This functionality makes it easy to task and direct its Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) information in real-time. GA’s Optix+ software suite rapidly correlates and exploits collected data into an easily shared common operational picture. Having multi-source correlated data enables automatic detection of anomalous behaviors over waters and has strengthened our Maritime Wide Area Surveillance (MWAS).
Q. As more countries adopt the MQ-9B, what steps is General Atomics taking to establish a comprehensive ecosystem that includes local manufacturing, supply chains, and technology transfer?
A. MQ-9B is a platform with great flexibility in terms of mission and capabilities to meet those missions. And in every country where MQ-9B is either operating or is on order, we are working with those governments to engage with their high-tech sector to see what capabilities can be integrated onto the platform, not only for aircraft being procured by that country but for broader installation.
Q. How does General Atomics plan to expand its global presence, and what new markets or innovations are you most excited about in the coming years?
A. There are many new technologies that are easily adapted to our aircraft. One that’s particularly well-suited is our development of Autonomy and AI pilots, where we can integrate and implement behaviours and services from a variety of military organizations and defence contractors. As we see it, there’s still “trust” in the AI Pilot to be matured before allied militaries will realize the vision for large-scale, integrated, autonomous unmanned combat aerial vehicles – or UCAVs – but GA and its partners are collaborating to develop and mature multiple emerging technologies to get there.
We’ve demonstrated an array of autonomous and AI capabilities in an open ecosystem that we think will set the standard for operationally relevant mission systems capabilities on UCAV platforms. A combination of airborne high-performance computing, sensor fusion, human-machine teaming and AI pilots making decisions at the speed of relevance shows how quickly our capabilities are maturing as we move to operationalize autonomy for UCAVs.
Q. The new line of GA assets like Avenger and Gambit are also proving their worth. When do you think these would be on the table for India?
A. We are engaged with India on our full line of platforms and capabilities. It’s important that we support each country in accordance with its specific security needs. As our relationship continues to build, we will continue to discuss other important aircraft for India for potential inclusion in their fleet.
