The full-scale fatigue testing of an MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) was completed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) on December 5, 2023. The crew completed the “first lifetime” of fatigue testing, equivalent to 40,000 hours of operation. This is a significant milestone in the process of confirming the design of the airframe system. The testing is a component of the certification process for the aircraft to the NATO standard STANAG 4671. Ultimately, the aircraft will be tested through three lifetimes, demonstrating that the airframe has a lifetime of 40,000 hours.
Through repetitive structural loads on the constructed airframe, the full-scale fatigue test can imitate the design service conducted on the aircraft. In addition to assisting in developing inspection and maintenance schedules for the airframe, the testing helps identify any potential structural defects before the fleet application. In addition to serving as the foundation for in-service inspections of structural components, the findings of the tests will be incorporated into the documentation required for certification.
GA-ASI’s most advanced remote piloted aircraft (RPA) is the MQ-9B, which includes the SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian variants as well as the new Protector RG Mk 1 that is now being supplied to the Royal Air Force of the United Kingdom.
According to Chris Dusseault, Vice President of MQ-9B in Europe, full-scale fatigue testing is essential in validating the airframe design. It is also an important input in the certification process for the aircraft before it is put into service. He says that completing the fatigue test instills confidence in our MQ-9B customers that the SkyGuardian/SeaGuardian airframe passes the rigorous design rigour and is a mature system at the time of Entry into Service.
Testing is validating the design and analysis work done throughout the years. The airframe is currently undergoing its first of three stages of testing over its lifetime. There are three lives, two of which imitate the operation of an aircraft under normal conditions, and the third lifetime involves the purposeful infliction of damage on the vital components of the airframe to demonstrate the airframe’s resistance to operational damage that may occur during the lifetime of the air vehicle.
The National Institute for Aviation Research at Wichita State University in Wichita, Kansas, was where the testing occurred between December 13, 2022 and December 5, 2023. The test airframe is a production airframe created specifically to support the test campaign.
