MQ-9B Moves Closer to Carrying Joint Strike Missile
The milestone forms part of a jointly funded effort to equip the MQ-9B family, including the SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian variants, with Kongsberg’s fifth-generation JSM, expanding the drone’s long-range strike capability.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) and Kongsberg Gruppen have completed two key design reviews for integrating the Joint Strike Missile (JSM) onto the MQ-9B unmanned aerial system (UAS).
The System Requirements Review and Preliminary Design Review were finalized in late June in Norway, advancing the program from defining requirements to a more mature design phase.
The milestone forms part of a jointly funded effort to equip the MQ-9B family, including the SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian variants, with Kongsberg’s fifth-generation JSM, expanding the drone’s long-range strike capability.
Currently, the MQ-9B UAS remains a widely used long-endurance uncrewed platform for land and maritime assault missions. The JSM, meanwhile, is designed to strike high-priority targets on land and at sea from stand-off ranges.
“Having JSM integrated onto an uncrewed air platform — the MQ-9B — enables a highly capable strike mission set that can be employed in conjunction with or independently of piloted aircraft,” said Jens Gjestvang, senior vice president for missiles and aerostructures at Kongsberg.
“This is an operational capability that we’re seeing greater interest in across the defence sector.”
The MQ-9B UAS
GA-ASI’s MQ-9B supports a wide range of missions, including intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, border patrol, aerial strike, and anti-submarine warfare in harsh operating environments.
It measures 38 feet (12 meters) long with a 79-foot (23-meter) wingspan and can carry payloads of up to 4,750 pounds (2,155 kilograms).
Powered by a 900-horsepower Honeywell TPE331-10 turboprop, it reaches speeds of 300 miles (483 kilometers) per hour, a range of 6,000 nautical miles (6,905 miles/11,112 kilometers), and operates at altitudes up to 43,00 feet (13,106 meters).
The JSM System
Introduced in 2021, the JSM carries a 120-kilogram (265-pound) warhead with time-delay and blast-impact fuzing.
The projectile is 13 feet (4 meters) long, weighs 917 pounds (416 kilograms), and has a diameter of 480 millimeters (19 inches).
It is powered by a Williams International F‐415 turbofan and supported by multiple sensors for navigation, communication, homing, and target-tracking.
The missile flies at Mach 0.9 (1,111 kilometers/691 miles per hour), has a range of 345 miles (555 kilometers), and can be launched from fighter jets and submarines.
Source: Drone Front
