The U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) celebrated a significant milestone with the receipt of the first MQ-9A Extended Range (ER) Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) by Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Training Squadron 2 (VMUT-2). This cutting-edge technology, part of the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Unmanned Expeditionary (MUX) Program, was ordered under the ARES Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity (ID/IQ) contract. The squadron received the UAS on March 18, 2024, marking a new era in their operational capabilities.
VMUT-2, the UAS training squadron of the USMC, is strategically located at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in Havelock, North Carolina. This squadron plays a crucial role in training personnel on the operation and maintenance of UAS.
The MQ-9A ER is built with field-retrofittable features that increase its operational flexibility and extend its endurance to over 30 hours. These features include reinforced landing gear and wing-borne fuel containers. The aircraft provides long-lasting and persistent surveillance capabilities via Full-Motion Video and Synthetic Aperture Radar/Moving Target Indicator/Maritime Mode Radar. MQ-9A ER aircraft feature a fault-tolerant flight control system and a triple-redundant avionics system architecture, rendering them exceedingly dependable. It is designed to reach or surpass the reliability standards for manned aircraft.
