MALE drones become multi-mission platforms: new capabilities for General Atomics' MQ-9B

Pure reconnaissance assets are turning into versatile multi-mission platforms: unmanned medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) systems are undergoing this shift. On General Atomics' MQ-9B, developers are testing which new capabilities MALE drones can be given – from integrated early warning to targeted counter-UAS.

The market for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) in this class is evolving rapidly. In a presentation at “DroneVation & Defence 2026”, Stefan Klein, Head of Strategic Business Development at General Atomics Europe, explained that the annual flight hours of the manufacturer's systems are growing exponentially. Over more than 30 years of company history and with more than 30 UAV variants developed, it has accumulated more than nine million flight hours. In Europe, nine nations are already procuring or operating systems of the MQ-9 family.

The flexibility and multi-mission capability of modern MALE drones such as the MQ-9B rest on concrete technical prerequisites. The aircraft can carry more than two tonnes of payload in total, 1.8 tonnes of it on external stations. There are nine hardpoints: four under each wing and one under the fuselage. For high-performance sensors, integrated generators supply 45,000 volt-amperes. The mission system and the flight-critical system are strictly separated to ease the integration of new functions and sensors: if the reconnaissance equipment is changed, the flight-critical components do not need to be recertified. Modular payload pods also allow different sensors and antennas to be fitted quickly.

From anti-submarine warfare to environmental monitoring

On the military side, the range of missions extends from anti-submarine warfare and maritime patrol through signals intelligence and early warning to communications relay. Civil and commercial applications are added: disaster relief, environmental monitoring, the monitoring of critical infrastructure and the surveillance of fisheries, embargoes and exclusive economic zones.

Together with the Swedish defence group Saab, General Atomics is currently testing an unmanned airborne early warning (AEW) capability on the MQ-9B. The airborne early warning is to be complemented by an integrated Saab radar. With their long loiter time and endurance, MALE drones can generate a wide-area air picture and support existing AWACS capacities, which are costly in both personnel and money, across large areas.

MALE drones in counter-UAS

Counter-UAS is being added as a further new field of application. The integration of precision-guided 70-millimetre rockets is currently being tested on the MQ-9B. The entire kill chain is covered – detection, classification, identification, tracking and targeting. Long loiter time and on-board sensors allow large areas to be monitored cost-effectively. Via data links such as Link 16, the unmanned system can be integrated into multi-layered, networked air defence architectures.

For high-intensity scenarios in contested airspace, the manufacturer points to specialised concepts such as the YFQ-42A unmanned combat aerial vehicle. It was tested under the Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) programme for the US Air Force, and it has been selected by the US Marines.