Unmanned aircraft stars in naval drill

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI), a manufacturer of unmanned aircraft and high-resolution surveillance and radar imaging systems, announced its successful participation in the U.S. Navy “Trident Warrior 2006” (TW06) exercise off the coast of Southern California. The experimental exercise evaluates emerging technologies that can help enhance situational awareness at all levels of the naval decision-making chain of command.

Over the course of its participation in TW06, GA-ASI worked with Lockheed Martin (LM) to operated a Predator B unmanned aircraft system (UAS) configured for maritime surveillance in support of fleet and homeland security objectives. The UAS operated at altitudes from 2,000 feet to above 40,000 feet, relaying data from a maritime radar system via satellite link.