Japan Bolsters Maritime Security with Purchase of Two SeaGuardian Drones from GA-ASI
The Japan Coast Guard (JCG) has confirmed a contract for the procurement of two SeaGuardian® Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), with delivery scheduled for 2025. This announcement follows JCG’s ongoing Company-Owned, Contractor-Operated partnership with GA-ASI for the utilization of SeaGuardian, which began in April 2022.
“Since the commencement of SeaGuardian operations by JCG, these aircraft have been applied to a variety of JCG missions. This includes assisting in search and rescue efforts as well as disaster management during the recent 7.6 magnitude earthquake earlier this year near the Noto Peninsula of Ishikawa Prefecture, along with maritime monitoring at the 2023 G-7 Summit in Hiroshima. The system has shown exceptional performance and dependability,” stated GA-ASI CEO Linden Blue.
SeaGuardian functions as a medium-altitude, long-endurance RPA system, capable of executing flights lasting 24 hours or more, depending on its setup.
GA-ASI has upgraded its Maritime Wide Area Surveillance (MWAS) capabilities for Japan with Optix+, which integrates data from SeaGuardian sensors and various other information sources, offering operators a holistic view of surveillance data. This feature streamlines the tasking and management of its Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) data in real time. GA-ASI’s Optix+ software package swiftly correlates and applies collected data to establish a unified operational picture. Access to multi-source correlated information aids in the automatic detection of unusual activities over maritime zones.
