Don’t Fear the Civilian Reaper
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, the California-based energy and defense concern, has undertaken testing of Pratt and Whitney’s PT6 E power-plant on its MQ-9B SkyGuardian Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA). The tests, which consisted of multiple full-power runs, were performed at General Atomics’s Desert Horizon flight operations facility in El Mirage, Calif. The MQ-9B SkyGuardian derives of the combat-proven MQ-9 Reaper in use with the United States Air Force, Navy, and numerous NATO militaries. SkyGuardian—unlike its warfighter sibling—was developed in accordance with EASA regulations for purpose of boosting European sales.