General Atomics conducted the first testing of the ground control system for combat UAVs

During testing, General Atomics used the Sky Guardian drone MQ-9B - it is planned that in the future it will become

the first military drone that canobtain certification from US and European civil aviation authorities. This will allow him to be in a single airspace with civilian aircraft and helicopters.

Sky Guardian checks with the Pro Line Fusion ground station took place at the Yuma site in Arizona. Now the developers are going to get a certificate for this station.

Earlier, Sky Guardian was the first in historymedium-altitude drone, which completely crossed the Atlantic. The aircraft covered the distance from the base in North Dakota to Gloucestershire in the UK in 24 hours 2 minutes.

Sky Guardian can be in the air up to 35hours, but while it is flying quite slowly - the cruising speed of the drone at an altitude of 7.5 thousand meters is 388 km / h. For comparison, the standard speed of the aircraft Boing 747 - 870 km / h.