General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, California, has been awarded a not-to-exceed $217,615,343 undefinitized contract action for Taiwan 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, and is expected to be completed May 5, 2025. This contract involves Foreign Military Sales to Taiwan and is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $107,426,104 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8689-23-C-2018).
The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the United States (TECRO) of four (4) Weapons-Ready MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft and related equipment for an estimated cost of $600 million. TECRO has requested to buy four (4) Weapons-Ready MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft; two (2) Fixed Ground Control Stations; two (2) Mobile Ground Control Stations; and fourteen (14) Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigations Systems (EGI) with Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Module (SAASM) (12 installed, 2 spares).
Also included are MX-20 Multi-Spectral Targeting Systems and spares; SeaVue Maritime Multi-Role Patrol Radars; SAGE 750 Electronic Surveillance Measures (ESM) Systems; C-Band Line-of-Sight (LOS) Ground Data Terminals; Ku-Band SATCOM GA-ASI Transportable Earth Stations (GATES); AN/DPX-7 IFF Transponders; Honeywell TPE-331-10GD Turboprop Engines; M6000 UHF/VHF Radios; KIV-77 Mode 5 IFF cryptographic appliques; AN/PYQ-10C Simple Key Loaders; secure communications, cryptographic and Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) equipment
MQ-9B SkyGuardian® is the next generation of remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI). The MQ-9 is the first hunter-killer UAV designed for long-endurance, high-altitude surveillance. The aircraft is outfitted with the revolutionary Lynx Multi-mode Radar, an advanced electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor, automatic takeoff and landing, and features a longer wingspan than its predecessors at 79 ft (24m). In addition to its industry-leading endurance and superior surveillance capabilities, SkyGuardian seamlessly integrates with its users’ other platforms, systems, and podded technologies.
