UK PASS is a Direct Commercial Sale arrangement that covers not only the aircraft but also the Certifiable Ground Control Stations and Synthetic Training Systems. This agreement marks a key transition for the Protector programme from its testing and development phase to active training and operational readiness.
“This contract marks an essential milestone in the fielding of the Protector RPA system for the RAF,” said Chris Dusseault, Vice President of MQ-9B in Europe. “With the UK PASS contract in place, we can now transition from the test and development phase of the program to training the RAF flight crews for operations.”
The UK PASS contract is part of GA-ASI’s SkyGuardian Global Support Solutions (SGSS), which provides a shared Contractor Logistics Support model across all MQ-9B users. This shared approach consolidates labour, materials, and overheads, enabling cost efficiencies and sustained system readiness across participating nations.
“The awarding of the PASS contract marks three years of intensive work between GA-ASI and UK MOD multidisciplinary teams to turn a concept into a reality,” said Group Captain Rich Cameron, Uncrewed Air System 3 Team Leader. “This has generated a first-in-class sustainment solution for the Royal Air Force Protector fleet, that exploits contractor owned inventory from a global common spares pool. This contract differs from a traditional spares and repairs contract, achieving economies of scale via a multi-customer common operating model.”
GA-ASI’s MQ-9B is widely regarded as the world’s most advanced RPA, offering long endurance and extended range capabilities. Variants including the SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian® have been delivered to several nations, including the UK, Canada, Poland, Japan, Taiwan, India, and the United States, and have supported multiple international military exercises.
