Second MQ-9B flies

The second MQ-9B SkyGuardian will be used to expand the aircraft’s light envelope and test the certiiable ground control station.General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) recently completed the first flight of the second MQ-9B SkyGuardian. The company-owned aircraft, YBC02, flew from Laguna Army Airfield in the Yuma Proving Grounds. GA-ASI said the second aircraft will be used to perform important development testing and demonstrations of new capabilities that weren’t available when the first prototype MQ-9B was completed in 2016, such as lightning protection, an upgraded avionics and software suite and a de-icing system. The upcoming test schedule for YBC02 includes further flight envelope expansion testing, testing of the certified redundant control module, flight controller updates and testing of the certifiable ground control station. The first MQ-9B SkyGuardian has now completed more than 75 flights and 400 flight test hours, GA-ASI said.