The Americans are making progress in creating anti-submarine drones. Yesterday, January 19, portal defensenews.com He reported that the US Navy and General Atomics successfully tested the MQ-9A Block V Reaper drone with a kit for setting up sonar buoys.
The tests were conducted as part of the development of the MQ-9B SeaGuardian drone — a modification of the MQ-9 for the needs of the Navy. Testing took place in the Pacific Ocean. The drone dropped ten sonar buoys, detected an underwater object with their help, and transmitted the target data to the command post in real time.
Render of the MQ-9B SeaGuardian drone
Image source: defensenews.com
"This is the first demonstration of anti-submarine aircraft. The successful completion of these tests paves the way for further development of additional anti-submarine warfare capabilities with our MQ-9s, " said David Alexander, President of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems.
The MQ-9B SeaGuardian will be able to carry four units with sonar buoys (up to 40 A-size buoys or 80 G-size buoys). The US Navy expects that the use of drones will reduce the use of anti-submarine aircraft Boeing P-8A Poseidon, thereby reducing the cost of air search for underwater targets.
