The UK’s Military Aviation Authority has granted a Military Type Certificate (MTC) to the Royal Air Force’s Protector RG Mk1, a variant of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc’s MQ-9B. The award confirms that the uncrewed aircraft system has passed a stringent airworthiness assessment and is safe to fly without geographical limitation, including over populated regions.

This 29 April decision marks the first time a large UAS has received such certification, a goal GA-ASI has pursued since MQ-9B’s development began in 2014. The design builds on the MQ-9A, incorporating enhancements to meet NATO’s STANAG 4671 Edition 2 requirements. Features include lightning and fire protection, anti-icing systems and fatigue-tolerant construction. Flight-critical software was built to DO-178C/254 standards and is segregated from mission software.

GA-ASI CEO Linden Blue says: “Earning an MTC for MQ-9B was a herculean effort and a seminal achievement for our company. We invested over $500 million as part of an 11-year effort to develop an unmanned aircraft that meets NATO’s rigorous airworthiness standards. This included three flight test aircraft, full component and system-level environmental testing to DO-160G and applicable Mil-Standards, full scale static test airframe test to ultimate ground and flight loads, bird strike, hail protection and full-scale fatigue testing to three lifetimes (3x 40,000 notional aircraft flight hours = 120,000 hours total). Our engineers developed over 140,000 pages of detailed technical data verifying that the MQ-9B met those demanding requirements. I congratulate our team for this outstanding accomplishment and I know our customers need this type certification, which will open civil airspace for their flight operations.”

The RAF is continuing to receive Protector aircraft at RAF Waddington, with ten of the 16 on order already delivered.

Gp. Capt. Neil Venables, the RAF’s Type Airworthiness Authority, says: “Achieving the award of a first in class Military Type Certificate has required years of dedication and perseverance and is a testament to the hard work of all involved. It is a privilege to be the first to be awarded an MTC for the Protector Air System.”

MQ-9B variants include SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian models, as well as Protector. Operators include Belgium, Canada, Poland, Japan, Taiwan, India and the U.S. MQ-9B aircraft have also participated in multiple U.S. Navy exercises.