General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, California, has been awarded a not-to-exceed $188,866,819 undefinitized contract action for Belgium MQ-9B SkyGuardian procurement. This contract provides for four MQ-9B unmanned air vehicles, two Certifiable Ground Control Stations, spares and support equipment. Work will be performed in Poway, California, and is expected to be completed March 31, 2024. This contract involves Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to Belgium and is the result of a sole-source acquisition. FMS funds in the amount of $94,341,260 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity.
The Government of Belgium has requested to purchase four (4) MQ-9B, RPA; two (2) Fixed Certifiable Ground Control Stations; five (5) AN/DAS-4 Multi-Spectral Targeting Systems (4 installed, 1 spare); fifteen (15) Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation Systems (EGI) (12 installed, 3 spares); five (5) AN/APY-8 Lynx Synthetic Aperture Radars (4 installed, 1 spare); and five (5) Detect and Avoid Systems (4 installed, 1 spare). Also included are an Initial Spares Package (ISP) and Readiness Spares Package (RSP) to support a 5-year period of performance; spare and repair parts. The total estimated program cost is $600 million.
GA-ASI and SABCA signed an MOU that outlines their cooperation for production and Maintenance Repair Operations (MRO) activities, including initial in-country entry into service and support for SkyGuardian. The MOU also covers production of the lightning-protected SATCOM radome for all MQ-9B SkyGuardian and SeaGuardianTM systems at SABCA Limburg. The parties intend to develop the first Europe-based MRO facility for MQ-9B actuators at SABCA in Brussels. GA-ASI and Thales Belgium S.A. have signed an MOU to collaborate on RPA surveillance sensor data processing, exploitation, and dissemination (PED) solutions, including the integration of MQ-9B into Belgian military data networks.
