The Japan Coast Guard (JCG) has agreed to acquire two SeaGuardian medium altitude long endurance uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc (GA-ASI) with delivery expected in 2025, the company announced on 15 August.
According to GA-ASI, the two new SeaGuardians will be equipped with the Optix+ software suite, a sensor fusion and sensemaking system which automatically gathers information from the air vehicles’ sensors as well as other data sources to provide an easily shared common operational picture.
The latest order comes two years after the JCG acquired a SeaGuardian as part of a Company-Owned, Contractor-Operated (COCO) agreement with GA-ASI, which commenced from April 2022. Under the COCO agreement, the SeaGuardian performed Maritime Wide Area Search (MWAS) operations over the Sea of Japan and the Pacific Ocean from October that year, staging from Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) Hachinohe Air Base.
The JCG subsequently added two more SeaGuardians in May 2023, with the fleet being widely used to perform high-profile missions such as the G7 Summit in Hiroshima in May 2023 as well as search and rescue missions in the aftermath of the Noto Peninsula Earthquake in January 2024.
JCG SeaGuardians are also equipped with the Raytheon SeaVue multi-mode maritime surface search radar with an inverse synthetic aperture radar imaging mode, an electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor plus a high-definition full-motion video sensor and an Automatic Identification System (AIS).
The latest contract was signed with Japanese trading house Sojitz Corporation, which noted that the new UAVs will be based at Kitakyushu Airport in Fukuoka Prefecture. The JCG’s lease to base its UAV fleet at Hachinohe Air Base is understood to be concluding in March 2025, necessitating the move to a new and more permanent operating facility.
“Sojitz has supplied aircraft to the [JCG] for maritime patrol purposes in the past and aims to contribute to Japan’s public safety and security,” the company said in a 16 August statement. “Through delivery and operational support of MQ-9B aircraft, Sojitz will continue to support the strengthening of the [JCG’s] security systems.”
by Jr Ng
