The United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence has signed a support and sustainment contract with General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) for logistics and maintenance of the Protector RG Mk1 Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) system. The contract — known as the UK Protector Availability and Support Solution or UK PASS — will provide ongoing support for the new Protector RPA systems supplied by GA-ASI and now being operated by the UK's Royal Air Force (RAF). The Protector RPA is based on GA-ASI's MQ-9B SkyGuardian^®.

UK PASS is a Direct Commercial Sale contract and includes support for the Protector program's RPA, the Certifiable Ground Control Stations and the Synthetic Training Systems.

"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."

UK PASS is part of GA-ASI's SkyGuardian Global Support Solutions (SGSS), which provides support for the entire MQ-9B customer base. SGSS is a shared Contractor Logistics Support (CLS) model, with resources such as labor, material, and overhead for maintenance, supply management, and other support functions required to sustain the RPA system, pooled together for use by the entire customer base. This approach provides efficiencies and a lower cost for customers.

"The awarding of the PASS contract marks three years of intensive work between GA-ASI and UK MOD multidisciplinary teams to turn a concept in to a reality. 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," said Group Captain Rich Cameron – Uncrewed Air System 3 Team Leader.

GA-ASI's MQ-9B is the world's most advanced RPA system, delivering exceptionally long endurance and range. MQ-9B includes the SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian^® models, with multiple deliveries made to the U.K.'s Royal Air Force (Protector), as well as orders from Canada, Poland, the Japan Coast Guard, the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, Taiwan, India, and the U.S. Air Force in support of the Special Operations Command. MQ-9B has also supported various U.S. Navy exercises, including Northern Edge, Integrated Battle Problem, and Group Sail.