The MQ-9B SeaGuardian drone is diving into smarter sub-hunting.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) has teamed up with defense tech firm Ultra Maritime to equip its tried-and-tested maritime drone with next-gen sonar tech, aiming to revolutionize how submarines are detected and tracked.
At the heart of the upgrade are miniaturized sonobuoys and compact acoustic receivers, giving the SeaGuardian new anti-submarine warfare (ASW) capabilities once reserved for large, crewed aircraft.
The sonobuoys will provide Multi-Static Active (MSA) capability to enable wide-area sub-hunting, while the receivers will allow the drone to monitor more sonobuoys, even in contested or GPS-denied environments.
Ultra said both systems are half their traditional size, optimizing them for drone-based operations.
A live demo of the new capability is planned for the Indo-Pacific and other regions later this year.
How It Works
The SeaGuardian will use its onboard Sonobuoy Dispensing System (SDS) to deploy buoys across areas of interest. Once in the water, the buoys listen for engine noise, propeller signatures, or reflected sonar pings from submarines.
Collected acoustic data is beamed back to the drone overhead, where it can be processed in real time. This autonomous loop enables quicker targeting decisions and streamlines the pace of operations.
While the SeaGuardian is already a workhorse in maritime surveillance, this evolution gives it a role in undersea warfare, a job usually carried out by aircraft like the P-8 Poseidon.
Inside the SeaGuardian
The MQ-9B SeaGuardian is a long-endurance, multi-domain drone designed for maritime intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance.
It is equipped with advanced radar, electro-optical/infrared sensors, and automatic identification systems to track vessels and provide persistent overwatch across wide ocean areas.
With a flight endurance of over 30 hours, the SeaGuardian is also fully certified for operations in civilian airspace.
Each drone can carry up to four SDS pods, holding and dispensing up to 40 full-size or 80 miniaturized sonobuoys under its wings.
