US approves potential sale of up to 12 weapons-ready MQ-9B UAVs to Australia
26 April 2021
by Gabriel Dominguez & Julian Kerr
The US State Department has approved a potential USD1.65 billion Foreign Military Sale (FMS) to Australia of up to 12 weapons-ready MQ-9B medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), along with related equipment and services.
The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on 23 April that the government in Canberra requested to buy the UAVs, which are made by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI), along with 15 Raytheon Multi-Spectral Targeting Systems-D (MTS-D), 16 Lynx AN/APY-8 synthetic aperture radars featuring ground moving target indicators, 15 Rio communication intelligence systems, and 36 embedded global positioning systems/inertial navigation systems with selective availability anti-spoofing modules.
U.S. Approves $1.6 Billion Weapons-Ready MQ-9B Drone Sale to Australia Our Bureau 417
MQ-9B Armed-Reconnaissance drone for Australia
The U.S. has approved a possible sale to Australia of Armed-Reconnaissance MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) and related equipment for an estimated cost of $1.651 billion, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) Friday delivered certification notifying Congress of the proposed sale.
The Government of Australia has requested to buy up to 12 Weapons-Ready MQ-9B RPA ; 15 Raytheon Multi-Spectral Targeting Systems-D, EO/IR sensors; 16 Lynx AN/APY-8 Synthetic Aperture Radars (SAR) with Ground Moving Target Indicator; 15 RIOTM Communication Intelligence Systems; 36 Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigations Systems (EGI) with Selective Availability Anti-Spoofing Modules (SAASMs), a DSCA release said.