General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. will deliver two SeaGuardian remotely piloted aircraft to the Japan Coast Guard in 2025 under a newly awarded contract.
SeaGuardian, a variant of GA-ASI’s MQ-9B, is a medium-altitude, long-endurance system that can fly over the horizon via satellite for 24 hours or more, depending on configuration, and uses maritime-specific sensors designed to deliver real-time situational awareness.
Japan has been using the drones since 2022 under a company-owned, contractor-operated agreement with GA-ASI to support search and rescue, disaster response and maritime surveillance, among other missions. According to GA-ASI Vice Chairman Linden Blue, the aircraft were deployed during a 7.6 magnitude earthquake near Ishikawa’s Noto Peninsula in early 2024 and the G7 Summit in Hiroshima in 2023.
As part of its partnership with Japan, the company provides access to the Optix+ software suite, which gathers data from the SeaGuardian sensors to improve maritime-wide area surveillance capabilities.
According to GA-ASI, Optix+ rapidly correlates and exploits collected data into an easily shared common operational picture, enabling automatic detection of anomalous behaviors over waters.