Belgian Aircrew Completes MQ-9B Training

The first Belgian aircrew has completed training to operate the MQ-9B SkyGuardian remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI). The training began in Belgium and concluded at GA-ASI’s facilities in North Dakota and at Desert Horizon in El Mirage, California.

The program covered key systems such as the Multi-Spectral Targeting System, Synthetic Aperture Radar, Mission Intelligence Station, and System for Tasking and Real-Time Exploitation. It also addressed normal and emergency procedures, intelligence and surveillance operations, instrument flying, and automatic takeoff and landing.

Belgium’s first MQ-9B aircraft completed its initial flight in February and is expected to arrive in-country before the end of September. It is part of a four-aircraft acquisition by the Belgian Ministry of Defence through a Foreign Military Sale that also includes two ground control stations.

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, Japan, 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.