Day: December 20, 2022

NATO Pod Development Brings Together International Partners to Meet Future Requirements

The test flight was performed at the Yuma Proving Grounds using a GA-ASI owned MQ-9A aircraft.

NATO Pod development was driven by GA-ASI’s desire to provide customers with a customizable, multi-use pod for carriage of sovereign, cross-domain Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) sensors for MQ-9A and MQ-9B RPA systems. GA-ASI is working with Sener and other European suppliers to integrate their sensor capabilities within this new pod. The NATO Pod is a flexible, scalable, certifiable enclosure with the structural features to host wide-ranging mission systems. The pod meets DEF STAN and STANAG certification standards for airworthiness, including lightning protection and bird impact.

The NATO Pod interfaces with common MQ-9 aircraft power and navigation interfaces, including the platform datalink connection to the Ground Control Station (GCS). Customer system integration is based on using a common set of interfaces to the aircraft and GCS systems.

“This is a truly momentous product design and implementation effort,” said GA-ASI Vice President of Mission Payloads and Exploitation, Satish Krishnan. “We’ve worked closely with Sener to meet requirements and keep our combined teams in sync to achieve this great outcome. Our successful test flight allows us to begin marketing this new capability to our international partner nations as a way to rapidly add sovereign payload capability.”

Rafael Orbe, Defence General Director at Sener Aeroespacial, said: “This first flight is the fruit of a long collaboration between GA-ASI and Sener and we are proud to have contributed to the success of the project. We look forward to continuing the good work together, which we are sure will bring us more successes in the future.”

This industrial cooperation effort introduces European manufacturing of GA-ASI designed mission hardware and opens the door to customer-specified mission payloads – including technologies that are built outside the U.S. – for deployment on MQ-9A and MQ-9B. The NATO Pod that was tested featured a payload built by Arpège S.A.S. France.

MQ-9As are operated by a number of European countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Italy, the Netherlands, and Spain. GA-ASI’s newer MQ-9B variant has been acquired by the UK and Belgium. Recently Poland announced that it will lease MQ-9A. 

About GA-ASI

General Atomics-Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), an affiliate of General Atomics, is a leading designer and manufacturer of proven, reliable remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) systems, radars, and electro-optic and related mission systems, including the Predator^® RPA series and the Lynx^® Multi-mode Radar. With more than seven million flight hours, GA-ASI provides long-endurance, mission-capable aircraft with integrated sensor and data link systems required to deliver persistent flight that enables situational awareness and rapid strike. The company also produces a variety of ground control stations and sensor control/image analysis software, offers pilot training and support services, and develops meta-material antennas. For more information, visit www.ga-asi.com.

Avenger, Lynx, Predator, SeaGuardian and SkyGuardian are registered trademarks of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. 

About Sener Aeroespacial

Sener Aeroespacial has been a leading supplier of high-performance aerospace systems for Space, Defense and Science for more than 50 years, developing its own high added-value technology products. Sener Aeroespacial is a leader in guidance, navigation and control systems, actuation and orientation systems, and communications, COMINT, optics, ATC and avionics systems. It is involved in the main programs of the ESA and NASA space agencies. Sener Aeroespacial is part of the SATNUS consortium, which leads the Spanish contingent of Remote Operators of the FCAS program. Sener Aeroespacial is also part of the recently created SMS consortium.

Sener Aeroespacial has production centers in Catalonia, the Community of Madrid and the Basque Country. It is a company of the Sener engineering and technology group, founded in 1956, which employs 2,700 professionals on four continents.

Contact Information:
GA-ASI Media Relations
GA-ASI Media Relations
asi-mediarelations@ga-asi.com
+1 (858) 524-8101

Sharyn Nerenberg
Media Contact, Hughes Network Systems
sharyn.nerenberg@hughes.com
(301) 428-7124

Susan Ong
External Communications, SES
suzanne.ong@ses.com
+352 710 725 500

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It is part of GSF’s global expansion plans, which will include M&As of greenfield projects.

Recognised as the world’s most awarded school network with more than 450 international awards in Business and Education Excellence, GSF already has a network of 35 campuses across 11 countries. Its schools offer multiple curricula like International Baccalaureate, Cambridge IGCSE and Indian CBSE to nearly 32000 students of more than 70 nationalities.

The new investment in India is aimed to fulfill the massive post-Covid increase in demand from domestic communities moving across Indian cities, as well as relocating families from and into India. Many existing student communities from international regions across East Asia, Southeast Asia, the Middle East, Europe, the U.K. and the U.S. are relocating to cities like Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai and Hyderabad.

GSF’s expansion will include Mergers and Acquisitions of greenfield projects into cities that also include Mumbai, Madurai, Noida and Nagpur.

“It is imperative that GSF takes necessary steps in investing to provide guaranteed admissions to such relocating students across its networks with zero disruptions,” said Mr. Atul Temurnikar, Executive Chairman and Co-founder of GSF.

The most recent step in this direction was the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding between Noida Authority and GSF with support from Enterprise Singapore, a division of Ministry of Trade and Industry-Republic of Singapore. The MoU commits to the investment towards new international schools that will offer International Baccalaureate and Cambridge IGCSE education in addition to CBSE.

In the last 20 years, GSF schools – like Global Indian International School and One World International School – have ranked high for their results in IB exams, with 96 students having scored World Topper (45/45) and Near Perfect Scores (44/45) in the IB Diploma exams. Over 800 students have scored A*s and As in seven or more subjects in Cambridge IGCSE.

GSF students receive offers from world’s leading universities, including some of the Ivy League colleges such as Oxford, Cambridge, Harvard, UC Berkeley and others, and every year over 150 universities from around the world visit school campuses for career guidance to students. Its 2500 faculty members undergo extensive and continuous training and development programmes in skills and subject-matter expertise.

GSF has only recently celebrated its 20th anniversary with much fanfare.

Contact Information:
Rupali Karekar
Dy Divisional Manager
rupali.karekar@myglobalschool.org
+6598734320

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