Japan Maritime Defense Force Selects MQ-9B SeaGuardian Drones

The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) has chosen the MQ-9B SeaGuardian drones, developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), for its Long Endurance Unmanned Aerial Vehicle program.

This decision follows SeaGuardian's integration into JMSDF operations since May 2023 under the Medium-Altitude, Long Endurance (MALE) RPA System Trial Operations Project.

The SeaGuardian system has been tested to assess its capability to complement or replace manned aircraft in specific missions. As a MALE RPA platform, it offers operational endurance of over 24 hours, depending on its configuration, making it suitable for maritime surveillance.

GA-ASI has enhanced its Maritime Wide Area Surveillance (MWAS) capabilities for Japan using the Optix+ software suite. Optix+ integrates data from SeaGuardian’s sensors and other sources, providing operators with a comprehensive real-time operational picture. This functionality supports rapid intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) tasking and enables automatic identification of unusual activities over water.

Equipped with latest sensors, SeaGuardian includes multi-mode maritime surface-search radars with Inverse Synthetic Aperture Radar (ISAR) imaging, an Automatic Identification System (AIS) receiver, and high-definition optical and infrared cameras. These features allow the system to detect and identify surface vessels across vast maritime regions, track targets, and correlate radar data with AIS transmissions and electronic intelligence.