GA-ASI selects GKN to create fuel bladders for MQ-9B

GKN Aerospace has signed a development agreement with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) covering the design, development and manufacture of fuel bladders for the MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) system.

GKN Aerospace develops, builds and supplies an extensive range of advanced aerospace systems and components made by Additive Manufacturing (AM) and other innovative manufacturing technologies focused to reduce weight on the aircrafts.

GKN Aerospace will work in conjunction with GA-ASI to design and manufacture the fuel bladders at the GKN Aerospace facility in Tallassee, Alabama. Stefan Svenson, vice president of GKN Aerospace Special Products Group said: “We look forward to working with GA-ASI to provide a vital fuel system solution for this long-endurance Predator B platform variant. We have been supplying fuel systems for many decades and for many airframe platforms and MQ-9B fully exploits all our recent advances in both manufacturing and materials technologies.”

The agreement covers the fuel bladder system for the first production aircraft slated for 2018, with a potential full contract value of USD 15M when the aircraft enters into service with NATO’s UAV AIRWORTHINESS REQUIREMENTS (defined in STANAG 4671). MQ-9B is a "Type-Certifiable" version of GA-ASI’s Predator® B product line. The target is to create fuel bladders in complex shapes that fully exploit all available space on the MQ-9B airframe, maximizing the fuel load capacity and platform endurance.

Holloman AFB MQ-9 Reaper Maintainers

A thorough knowledge of the Reaper is required in order to keep the aircraft flying. Holloman AFB has the important mission of preparing Airmen with the knowledge and skills necessary to deploy worldwide at a moment’s notice, to effectively and efficiently perform their duties.

Inspections are performed based on different qualifying factors, including total hours flown and discrepancies noticed or reported during training sorties. Additional inspections are completed on various milestones including 200, 400, 800 and 2,000 hours of flight time. Each inspection is increasingly more in-depth as the flight hours rise.

Recently, the mission of Holloman AFB has transformed from projecting combat airpower to training the next generation of combat pilots and among its many aircraft, Holloman Air Force Base is the premier training base for the MQ-1B Predator and the MQ-9 Reaper. The Airmen thoroughly inspect each part of the aircraft before takeoff and after landing, looking for any discrepancies that could interfere with the proper operation and safety of the aircraft. 

The Reaper is an armed, multi-mission, medium-altitude, long-endurance RPA that is used primarily as an intelligence-collection asset. Reapers also perform missions supporting close air support, combat search and rescue, convoy over watch, and target development. The MQ-9's capabilities make it uniquely qualified to conduct warfare operations in support of the deployed commander's objectives.  Up to nine people will work on an aircraft at one time, each responsible for different systems. When it comes down to the wire, teamwork is a critical. "We check every part of the aircraft, from the wings to the engines and tires. It's basically like taking your car for a tune-up," said Senior Airman Courtlyn Collier, a 49th AMXS crew chief. "Once a plane lands, you'll see a lot of crew chiefs, avionics and weapons Airmen starting inspections."

USAF RPA: Two Million Flying Hours

It took sixteen years for the Remotely Piloted Aircraft community to reach one million flight hours.

A short two and a half years later, the RPA is celebrating again with its two millionth hour on the job. The US Air Force’s Remotely Piloted Aircraft fleet reaches a milestone of 2 million flying hours with help from Airmen on Creech Air Force Base, Nevada.

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