General Atomics Teams with Edge for SkyGuardian Weapons
Included in the agreement are the UAE's Al Tariq family of PGMs
The Al Tariq family of modular precision weapons has been integrated on a number of UAE Air Force platforms, including the Mirage 2000 fighter. The system is among those slated for SkyGuardian integration. (Photo: David Donald)

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) has announced an agreement with the UAE’s Edge Group for the integration of smart weapons onto the MQ-9B SkyGuardian remotely-piloted aircraft (RPA). The UAE already operates GA-ASI’s unarmed Predator XP and hopes to acquire the larger and weapons-capable MQ-9B.

Despite being approved by the U.S. State Department in November 2020 to receive up to 18 SkyGuardians together with associated systems and weapons, the estimated $2.97 billion deal was frozen as part of the cancellation of the UAE’s F-35 fighter purchase. Efforts to resurrect the MQ-9B sale continue.

Under the deal with Edge, a range of the Emirati company's weapons will be integrated, including the Desert Sting guided glide weapons and Thunder family of low-cost precision munitions from Edge member Halcon, along with the Al Tariq family of modular precision-guided munitions.

“We’re excited to work with Edge on this initiative,” said GA-ASI president David Alexander. “Integrating home-grown capabilities onto our customer platforms is something we’ve done a lot, but we’ve never before integrated a non-NATO weapon system onto one of our RPA platforms.”

GA-ASI hopes that the deal will lead to further integration of Emirati weapons, sensors, and systems into the company’s RPAs, for both the UAE and other nations.