The Sonobuoy Dispensing System test has enhanced the MQ-9B SeaGuardian’s status as the only RPA that can carry, release and monitor sonobuoys, whose data is then used by aircraft and ships to hunt submarines.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) has further expanded the role of its MQ-9B SeaGuardian UAS (Unmanned Aerial System), successfully deploying and testing anti-submarine sensors using multiple pre-production Sonobuoy Dispensing System (SDS) pods. The groundbreaking test took place from Jan. 20 to Jan. 30, according to a company press release.
The pods “deployed multiple sonobuoys to conduct onboard thermal-depth and acoustic data processing.” The company further explained that “using Directional Frequency Analysis and Recording (DIFAR), Directional Command Activated Sonobuoy System (DICASS), and Bathythermograph sonobuoys, SeaGuardian effectively detected, tracked, and analyzed underwater targets while collecting critical acoustic intelligence.”
Multiple DIFAR and DICASS test sonobuoys were dropped during the tests, precisely correlating ejection speed with stress/strain data, as a part of the development process, “This provided a high-fidelity launch model to refine future deployment capabilities,” the release added.
The test has enhanced the SeaGuardian’s status as the only UCAV/RPA that can carry, release and monitor sonobuoys, whose data is then used by naval maritime patrol, ASW aircraft, helicopters and surface ships to hunt submarines. GA-ASI has been working for a long time on this capability to continue improving it.
GA-ASI expands role of MQ-9B SeaGuardian® with Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) capability.
Learn more: https://t.co/qHexmJfsdp pic.twitter.com/pnjyt2CIot
— General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc (GA-ASI) (@GenAtomics_ASI) February 25, 2025
The company added that NAWCAD’s (Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) AIRWorks department “played a key role in supporting and overseeing the development, ensuring the system meets emerging warfighter needs.” The statement further mentioned that “AIRWorks has partnered with GA-ASI in multiple ASW demonstrations, including the Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercise in July 2024.”
Sonobuoy Dispensing System
The Sea Guardian is a highly sophisticated UAV which, besides ASW, is also capable of EW (Electronic Warfare), with endurance from a minimum of 24 hours to a maximum of 40 hours, depending on the payload. The drone is 11.8 meters (38.7 feet) long and has a wingspan of 24 meters (78.7 feet), and it can cover a cruising distance of approximately 4,300 kilometers (2,322 nautical miles).
The SeaGuardian most prominent feature is its distinctive Raytheon SeaVue XMC radar pod installed under the rear fuselage, which has appeared as a standard feature across all of GA-ASI’s renderings and images. This adds to the GA-ASI Lynx Synthetic Aperture Radar installed internally, as well as a Raytheon Intelligence & Space Multi-Spectral Targeting System, a Leonardo Electronic Support Measure (ESM)/Electronic Intelligence (ELINT) SAGE 750, a Shine Micro Automatic Identification System (AIS), an Ultra sonobuoy receiver and a General Dynamics Mission Systems-Canada sonobuoy processor.
Equipped with a GA-ASI Sonobuoy Dispensing Pod & a Raytheon SeaVue radar, #MQ9B SeaGuardian took to the @USNavy’s W-291 test range in Southern California to demonstrate its ability to launch submarine-detecting sonobuoys & track underwater targets.
More: https://t.co/h6BQyWrYGt pic.twitter.com/zJoi1SrlPe
— General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc (GA-ASI) (@GenAtomics_ASI) March 20, 2024
The Sonobuoy Dispensing System has already been seen in renditions and subsequent releases, showing a large hexagon-shaped pod with diagonally downward-facing ejection ports. Although GA-ASI mentioned the pods are “newly designed,” the SDS pods have already been tested a first time in November 2020 on a MQ-9A Block 5.
#SeaGuardian is the #RPA that gives forces the ability to scale #ASW efforts to meet growing levels of submarine threat without the hefty price tag.
@defense_newshttps://t.co/aTXB0SwqSO pic.twitter.com/1KZez6kJwm
— General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc (GA-ASI) (@GenAtomics_ASI) April 22, 2020
More recently, the pod was mentioned again by GA-ASI in a release and a photograph of a Feb. 2024 test, announcing an exercise with NAVAIR (Naval Air Systems Command) at the Navy’s W-291 test range in southern California. During the trials, a SeaGuardian carried the SDS pod and, using a pneumatic ejection system, dropped eight AN/SSQ-53 and two AN/SSQ-62 sonobuoys.
The ejection system is developed by Italy’s AREA, which also supplies the internal structure assembly of the pod. Interestingly, the MQ-9B SeaGuardian was flying with an Interim Flight Clearance from NAVAIR.
Nevertheless, this is a serious capability, especially when the SeaGuardian would be working in concert with other platforms like the P-8A Poseidon ASW and MPA aircraft. In fact, combining manned and unmanned ASW platforms would help to obtain persistent surveillance over sensitive areas.
“This demonstration represents a major leap forward in unmanned capabilities and marks a major milestone in proving that an unmanned aircraft can perform end-to-end persistent ASW operations,” said GA-ASI President David R. Alexander. “The success of this testing paves the way for enhanced anti-submarine warfare capabilities on the MQ-9B SeaGuardian. We look forward to continued collaboration with the U.S. Navy as they explore innovative solutions for distributed maritime operations in the undersea domain.”
#SeaGuardian‘s maritime capabilities don’t stop at the surface. It has demonstrated the ability to release sonobuoys and track submarines while integrated with naval units. #UAS #ASW
Find out more: https://t.co/ghb2ABJ6et pic.twitter.com/TAjZJM54tr
— General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc (GA-ASI) (@GenAtomics_ASI) December 21, 2022
Other SeaGuardian tests
The MQ-9B SeaGuardian has also performed in large-scale exercises like the RIMPAC (Rim of the Pacific), including its latest iterations in 2024 and 2022. On Aug. 14, 2022, GA-ASI said that a company-owned system spent 100 flight hours during RIMPAC 2024 around the Hawaiian islands, providing real-time ISR and SIGINT data feeds, like parametrics and full-motion video, to the U.S. Pacific Fleet Command center.
Interestingly, the MQ-9B also provided targeting for the AGM-158C LRASM (Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile), referring to the SINKEX where a U.S. Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet employed the weapon against the former USS Tarawa. The exercise also saw the employment of the SDS pods, says the company, however they were not present in the released photo.
Photo dump from MQ-9B #SeaGuardian’s participation at #RIMPAC2022.
It was an honor to work with the @USNavy and showcase #MQ9B’s maritime capabilities at the world’s largest maritime exercise.
Learn more: https://t.co/o6USG4Jwl2 pic.twitter.com/y8wxKQHMV6
— General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc (GA-ASI) (@GenAtomics_ASI) August 17, 2022
The company further identified the SDS pods seen so far as a “prototype”, with the SeaGuardian able to carry four pods, each one deploying ten A-size sonobuoys for a total of 40 sonobuoys, along with Raytheon’s SeaVue multimode radar. The sonobuoys are monitored and controlled by the RPA’s onboard SMCS (Sonobuoy Monitoring and Control System).
In a “complex and challenging” May 2023 ASW test, GA-ASI said a ground-crew operated MQ-9B SeaGuardian, controlled via a satellite link, joined U.S. Navy helicopters, taking off from San Diego, over waters off southern California. Here, the helicopters dropped sonobuoys, of which the SeaGuardian took over monitoring. “Shortly thereafter, its sensors detected a simulated submarine. This meant other helicopters could deploy to the scene armed with precise data about the target’s location and course and then attack,” said the statement.
That release was accompanied by a rendition showing a SeaGuardian releasing sonobuoys from the wing-mounted pods, surrounded by a MV-22B/CMV-22 Osprey, a MH-60R helicopter and a P-8A Poseidon. During RIMPAC 2022, the SeaGuardian flew 11 flights totaling over 80 hours showcasing all operational payloads, including ELINT/COMINT, Automatic Identification System (AIS), ASW Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) and “monitor and control of sonobuoys,” a GA-ASI developed Lynx Multi-mode Maritime Radar, high-definition Electro-Optical/Infra-Red (EO/IR) imaging system and Link 16.
In that exercise, GA-ASI said that the MQ-9B effectively passed ISR information to various surface and air units, such as the USS Abraham Lincoln, Guided Missile Destroyers, Littoral Combat Ships, frigates, patrol boats, P-8s, P-3s and a litany of other U.S. and foreign units. In Apr. 21, 2021, a SeaGuardian (number N34IHK) participated in the Pacific Fleet’s Unmanned Systems Integrated Battle Problem (UxS IBP).
SeaGuardian’s increasing prominence
The system’s test is consistent with the U.S. effort to bolster its maritime surveillance and submarine-hunting capabilities in the Indo-Pacific region, with the JMSDF (Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force) and the Indian Navy set to become major MQ-9B SeaGuardian operators.
Early in Dec. 2024, Japan was reported to have finalized the acquisition of 23 MQ-9B SeaGuardian systems by fiscal year 2032, with a spokesperson telling Naval News that they are yet to identify the bases to operate the drone from. Prior to that, on Jun. 14 2024, an MQ-9B SeaGuardian landed at Kanoya Air Base in Japan’s Kagoshima Prefecture for the first time, and took off the next day.
In October of that year, India’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) signed a contract with the U.S. government for a “Tri-Service procurement” of 31 MQ-9B Sea/SkyGuardian HALE (High-Altitude Long-Endurance) RPAs (Remotely Piloted Aircraft). Of the 31 drones, 15 will go to the Indian Navy and eight each will be operated by the Indian Army and Indian Air Force.
