MQ-9B and Saab LoyalEye Track Air and Maritime Targets in Flight Tests

GA-ASI said its MQ-9B, carrying Saab’s LoyalEye airborne early-warning radar in payload pods, tracked multiple airborne and maritime targets during a flight-test campaign conducted over several months at the company’s Desert Horizon flight operations facility in Southern California.

Key details

• GA-ASI said the tests included instrumented fighter aircraft simulating adversaries and several commercial aircraft.
• The company described the tracking tests as taking place at long range, but did not publish detection ranges.
• The MQ-9B fitted with LoyalEye made its first flight on May 19, 2026, according to Saab’s earlier announcement.
• GA-ASI said it was discussing the MQ-9B’s unmanned airborne early-warning capability with several customers.
• The MQ-9B family includes SkyGuardian, SeaGuardian and the UK’s Protector. GA-ASI is also developing a short-takeoff-and-landing variant for operations from naval aircraft carriers.

The MQ-9B and LoyalEye radar tracked instrumented fighter aircraft, commercial aircraft and maritime targets during testing.

Why it matters

The tests bring an airborne early-warning radar onto the MQ-9B platform, with GA-ASI describing tracking of both aircraft and maritime targets. The company’s customer discussions point to interest in applying the capability to unmanned aircraft operations.

What happens next

GA-ASI’s customer discussions and continued work on MQ-9B variants give the LoyalEye test program a clear path for further development. What role could unmanned aircraft play in future airborne early-warning missions?