The RCAF Commander, Lieutenant-General Eric Kenny, recently visited General Atomics in San Diego. General Atomics is the company who will supply the RCAF with 11 MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aerial System (RPAS). The visit included a tour of the facility, including an up-close view of the first two RCAF MQ-9Bs currently in production, a simulator demonstration, and discussions with the project teams. RCAF MQ-9Bs will begin certification testing in the US, in 2026, with participation of a RCAF test pilot and engineer.
Read our Feature Interview with Lieutenant-General Eric Kenny.
The first aircraft is planned for delivery to Canada in 2028. Eventually the fleet of MQ-9B will operate out of 19 Wing Comox, BC, 14 Wing Greenwood, NS and be controlled from a ground station in Ottawa, ON.
This new capability will allow the CAF to monitor Canada’s large territory and long coastline. It will support civilian aid operations such as responding to forest fires and floods. In deployed operations, an RPAS will provide an overview of operational situations with near real-time information. It will be capable of detecting, recognizing, identifying, tracking, and engaging targets in complex environments. It will also enable Canada to optimally fulfill its North American Aerospace Defense (NORAD) and NATO missions while increasing interoperability with U.S. and NATO forces.
Team SkyGuardian Canada is a coalition of leading Canadian businesses – including CAE, MDA Space, and L3Harris Technologies. CAE is working with GA-ASI on MQ-9B development, delivery, and sustainment. Canada’s investments in the RPAS Project are a direct reflection of Canada’s vested domestic interest in pursuing leading-edge RPAS technologies.
“CAE is dedicated to advancing innovative solutions to support Canada’s defence and the ongoing modernization of the Royal Canadian Air Force,” said Marc-Olivier Sabourin, CAE Defense & Security, Vice President of International. “Our long-standing collaboration with GA-ASI delivers best-in-class training technologies, systems, and services to Canada’s Armed Forces with critical devices and support to enable intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance (ISR) operations.”
MDA Space announced it has received a $74M contract from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) to help deliver the fleet of MQ-9B SkyGuardian Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS) ordered by the Canadian Armed Forces.
As part of the contract announced in February 2024, MDA will complete the assembly of the RPAS ground control stations at MDA’s Richmond, BC, facility. MDA will also deliver the combat search and rescue radios for the program and design the RPAS Ground Control Centre information management system that controls how information flows, is secured and shared.
