General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) and Saab have partnered to achieve a maiden flight of the world’s first unmanned airborne early warning (AEW) solution.

The solution pairs GA-ASI’s MQ-9B unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) with a pair of underwing pods containing Saab’s LoyalEye AEW sensor.

The maiden flight took place on 19 May 2026 out of GA-ASI’s Desert Horizon facility in Southern California using a company-owned aircraft. The flight signalled the first step in a development process that is expected to take several months and culminate with a full-capability demonstration later this year.

The LoyalEye-equipped MQ-9B UAV is intended to span a range of AEW applications, including early detection and warning, long-range detection and tracking, and the simultaneous tracking of multiple targets, all using a flexible system integration process and featuring both line-of-sight and satellite-communications-based beyond-line-of-site connectivity.

“AEW for MQ-9B will offer critical aloft sensing to defend against tactical air munitions, guided missiles, drones, fighter and bomber aircraft, and other threats,” stated GA-ASI President David R Alexander in a 21 May company press release. “Operational availability for a medium-altitude, long-endurance [unmanned aerial system] is the highest of any military aircraft and, as an unmanned platform, its aircrews are not put into harm’s way,” he added.

“LoyalEye on the MQ-9B offers critical airborne sensing, supporting extended persistence and operational reach,” stated Carl Johan Bergholm, head of Saab’s Surveillance business area. “As a complement to manned assets, it aims to enhance situational awareness and, in combination, enable greater operational reach and flexibility.”

GA-ASI’s MQ-9B UAV range, which includes the SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian as well as the UK Royal Air Force’s Protector variant, has been designed from the start to be able to fly in civil airspace and was the first UAV type certified to do so. Featuring a 24 m wingspan, a Lynx multi-mode radar, an advanced electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor and an automatic take-off and landing capability, the MQ-9B can fly over the horizon via satellite for more than 40 hours in all types of weather. The SkyGuardian variant features a maximum 2,155 kg external payload capacity using nine hardpoints (eight on the wings plus one on the centreline).

Regarding Saab’s LoyalEye sensor, little is known so far, apart from the fact that it has been developed specifically with UAVs in mind. Warsight has asked the company to provide further details.

GA-ASI and Saab announced in June 2025 that they were combining to deliver an AEW capability based on the MQ-9B.