MQ-9A Drone Completes First Flight Fitted with Leonardo Seaspray V2 Radar

The MQ-9A Block 5 Remotely Piloted Aircraft performed its first test flight integrated with Leonardo Seaspray 7500E V2 multi-mode radar on April 14, 2021.

The maritime-focused radar is also being fitted for the MQ-9B SeaGuardian RPA.

Designed and manufactured in Edinburgh, UK, the Leonardo 7500E V2 radar is the latest variant of the highly successful Seaspray Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar family, featuring updated processor and receiver technology to meet the evolving demands of the ISR mission set.

Tony Innes, VP Sales, Radar and Advanced Targeting at Leonardo said, “Seaspray’s long-range, wide-area maritime and ground surveillance capability makes it an ideal fit for the MQ-9A and MQ-9B. The V2 offers significant range increases for certain critical modes, improved maritime detection and the ability to handle a high number of targets, while improving on its already-capable over-land mode suite.”