The United Kingdom’s General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) Protector unmanned aircraft system has received a further injection of design, development, and integration funding.
A USD 80.9 million contract was awarded to the manufacturer on 30 March to add to the approximately USD130 million that the UK government announced it had invested in December 2016.
Work on this follow-on contract is expected to be complete by 31 August 2021.
Protector is the United Kingdom’s name for the Certifiable Predator B (CPB)/SkyGuardian that is being upgraded with national-specific equipment and munitions. According to GA-ASI, the CPB has a maximum operating altitude of 45,000 ft (compared with 50,000 ft for the Reaper), a maximum endurance of more than 40 hours (compared with 27 hours for the Reaper), and a maximum air speed of 200 kt (compared with 240 kt for the Reaper).
Source: Jane’s 360