Vanguard Magazine

fornia every year during the fire season. The MQ-9's high-definition, full-motion video (optical and infrared) and ground imaging Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) give a clear big picture, including identify- ing small changes that can make a differ- ence in containing fires. national & Global Security Canada's Defense Policy, 'a new vision for defense,' defined by the pillars of "Strong, Secure, Engaged" (SSE) – Strong at Home, Secure in North America and Engaged in the World – is centered around shaping the success of the Canadian Armed Forces in protecting its people. And it recognizes the dynamic and complex security envi- ronments at home and internationally. It's becoming clear that addressing the increasing presence of Chinese and Rus- sian assets in the Arctic should become a top priority. A recent report from CSIS cited that Russia has reopened "50 previ- ously closed Soviet-era military posts" in the Arctic domain, in addition to steadily increasing the tempo of Arctic exercises over the past four years. Earlier this year, the head of the North American Aerospace Command (NORAD) emphasized the crit- ical importance of modernizing assets and increasing presence in the Arctic to main- tain military advantage and protect North America. "Russia has steadily expanded its military presence in the region and, by fielding advanced, long-range cruise mis- siles…Russia has left us with no choice but to improve our homeland defence capa- bility and capacity," said U.S. Gen. Ter- rence O'Shaughnessy at a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on Capitol Hill. With MQ-9B SkyGuardian, Canada would have the only multi-mission capabil- ity that's interoperable with NORAD and its allies, providing a solution for the Ca- nadian Armed Forces that will help rebuild and modernize the critical foundation for Arctic readiness. A reassertion to an endur- ing presence of 'like-minded' allies in the Arctic is critical to reestablishing the inter- national order and maintaining our mutual www.vanguardcanada.com JUNE/JULY 2020 27 GA-ASI's MQ-9B SkyGuardian is built for civil airspace certification. PersPeCtiVe Sponsored Content security interests with allies. Canada's RPAS Project seeks to procure a MALE RPA to support security opera- tions like this, becoming aligned to sup- port all SSE initiatives, including its con- tribution via Secure in North America and aiding global stability. Why mQ-9B SkyGuardian? The MQ-9B offers all-weather features, allows for persistent surveillance with up to 40 hours of endurance, and provides a significant reduction in manpower enabled by automation. Its acquisition cost and low cost per flight hour make it affordable and allow it to be the perfect complement to other air and surface assets. When com- pared to the P-3, MQ-9B's cost per flight hour is only 20% of the P-3 and its fuel consumption is less than 4% of the P-3. This optimizes the use of more expensive manned platforms for interdictions or other operations, such as environmental monitoring and other civil missions that are critical to the overall stability of the re- gion. Overall, there is a 75% reduction in aircrew requirements when using MQ-9B. This makes for a rapid and small force de- ployable capability for constant situational awareness to identify, detect, track, and deter potential air and maritime threats. Compared to larger, manned platforms, MQ-9B has a minimal footprint, making it ideal for expeditionary operations from short fields and advantageous for missions in an Arctic environment. The MQ-9B can cover an expansive territory and, with on- going developments, it will have the abil- ity to conduct unrestricted operations by 2024. These features combined with 'plug and play' architecture and a variety of sen- sor and payload options make MQ-9B the ideal multi-role platform needed to address a range of mission sets. A view from a GA-ASI Electro-Optical Infra-Red video system capturing fire spread.

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