The airborne early warning (AEW) market may be on the cusp of a major transformation as General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) and Swedish defense giant Saab collaborate on a remotely piloted airborne surveillance platform based on the MQ-9B drone.
The partnership aims to combine Saab’s advanced LoyalEye radar technology with GA-ASI’s proven MQ-9B Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), creating a lower-cost and highly persistent alternative to traditional manned airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft.
The program reached a significant milestone on May 19 when GA-ASI conducted the first flight of an MQ-9B equipped with two prototype airborne early warning pods. These pods will eventually house the fixed antennas of Saab’s LoyalEye radar system, marking the beginning of an extensive test-and-evaluation campaign that is expected to culminate in a full-capability demonstration later this year.
For decades, airborne early warning missions have been performed by large, manned aircraft carrying powerful radar systems. These platforms serve as airborne command-and-control nodes capable of detecting aircraft, missiles, drones, and other threats at long ranges while coordinating defensive and offensive operations.
Saab has established itself as one of the leading providers of AEW&C systems through the development of the Erieye radar family. The company previously fielded the Saab 340 Erieye, mounted on the Saab 340 regional turboprop, and later the more capable GlobalEye system installed on the Bombardier Global 6000/6500 ultra-long-range business jet.
Both aircraft employ advanced Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars featuring fixed antenna designs that provide broad-area surveillance without relying on mechanically rotating radar dishes.
The MQ-9B LoyalEye concept seeks to bring many of the same capabilities to a much smaller and significantly less expensive unmanned aircraft.
According to the companies, the new platform will support a broad range of missions, including early warning, long-range detection and tracking, and simultaneous monitoring of multiple airborne targets. The system will operate beyond line of sight and use satellite communications (SATCOM) links to transmit information to operators and command centers.
The aircraft is intended to provide surveillance and warning against a wide spectrum of threats, including tactical air-launched munitions, cruise missiles, drones, fighter aircraft, bombers, and other aerial threats.
The decision to employ an RPA instead of a traditional crewed aircraft offers several operational and economic advantages.
One of the most important is endurance. Traditional AEW aircraft are constrained by crew fatigue and aircraft limitations, typically remaining airborne for around 8 to 12 hours before requiring replacement.
The MQ-9B, however, was designed from the outset as a long-endurance platform. With aerial refueling capability, its loiter time could approach 40 hours, enabling persistent surveillance over vast areas with fewer aircraft rotations.
The absence of onboard crew also fundamentally changes the operating model. Radar operators, mission commanders, and flight crews remain safely on the ground rather than flying within range of hostile air defenses.
This not only reduces risk to personnel but also allows greater flexibility in workforce management. Ground-based operators and mission systems can support multiple aircraft rather than being permanently tied to a single platform.
Defense analysts have long viewed airborne early warning aircraft as among the most valuable and vulnerable assets in any air force. Removing personnel from the aircraft while retaining surveillance capability represents a potentially significant shift in operational doctrine.
Cost may ultimately prove to be the MQ-9B LoyalEye’s greatest selling point.
Industry estimates suggest that the new unmanned AEW platform could cost between $60 million and $80 million per aircraft. That figure compares favorably with existing AEW&C systems.
The Saab 340 Erieye is estimated to cost approximately $170 million, while American systems are considerably more expensive. The Northrop Grumman E-2D Hawkeye is estimated at roughly $230 million per aircraft, and Boeing’s E-7 Wedgetail can cost as much as $725 million depending on configuration and support packages.
Assuming approximately 400 flight hours annually, maintenance costs for an E-2D Hawkeye could reach around $12 million per year. By comparison, an MQ-9B-based AEW platform may incur maintenance expenses of only $3 million to $3.5 million annually.
Such savings could enable air forces to field larger fleets and maintain more persistent surveillance coverage than would be economically feasible with traditional aircraft.
The lower cost also supports the concept of “attritability”—the ability to accept occasional platform losses without suffering severe financial or operational consequences. While the MQ-9B remains a sophisticated aircraft, it is substantially less expensive than most manned AEW&C systems.
The notion that a medium-altitude drone could perform missions once reserved for large business jets and regional airliners would have seemed unrealistic only a decade ago.
Several technological developments have changed that equation.
Foremost among them is the maturation of Gallium Nitride (GaN) semiconductor technology for AESA radar transmit-receive modules. Saab was among the pioneers in operational GaN radar systems.
Compared with older Gallium Arsenide (GaAs)-based designs, GaN technology delivers significantly greater power density, improved efficiency, and superior heat tolerance. These advantages enable radar designers to achieve higher performance while reducing size and weight.
Advances in electronics miniaturization and systems integration have also played a crucial role.
Modern processors, networking systems, and radar components can now fit into compact packages while consuming less power than previous generations. This allows sophisticated sensor suites to be installed on relatively small aircraft.
Additionally, the MQ-9B LoyalEye leverages a network-centric architecture in which large volumes of sensor data can be compressed and transmitted via SATCOM links to ground stations for processing and exploitation.
Rather than carrying a large crew and extensive mission consoles onboard, much of the computational and analytical workload can be performed remotely.
The resulting system consists primarily of two lightweight under-wing radar pods and a centerline avionics pod, dramatically reducing the size and complexity traditionally associated with AEW aircraft.
The development of the MQ-9B LoyalEye comes as China continues pursuing its own unmanned airborne early warning concepts.
Among the most notable is the Shenyang WZ-9 “Divine Eagle,” a high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned aircraft reportedly designed specifically for airborne early warning and counter-stealth missions.
Unlike the MQ-9B-based system, the Divine Eagle is a purpose-built AEW platform. The unusual twin-boom aircraft features high-aspect-ratio wings, a canard-style forward stabilizer, and a single WZ-9 turbofan engine.
Reports indicate that the aircraft incorporates as many as seven AESA radar arrays embedded within its twin fuselage structure, including low-frequency L- and S-band systems optimized for detecting stealth aircraft.
The Divine Eagle is also significantly larger than the MQ-9B.
With an estimated maximum takeoff weight of around 15 tonnes, it is believed to be the largest unmanned aircraft ever constructed. The aircraft is reportedly about 15 meters long, possesses a wingspan of approximately 45 meters, and can operate at altitudes reaching 82,000 feet.
By comparison, the MQ-9B has a maximum weight of roughly 5.6 tonnes, a length of 11.7 meters, a wingspan of 20 meters, and a service ceiling of around 40,000 feet.
China’s emphasis on extreme altitude is intended to maximize radar horizon and enhance the detection of low-observable aircraft such as the F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II over large expanses including the South China Sea.
The two concepts therefore reflect different philosophies.
The Divine Eagle appears to be a specialized strategic surveillance asset optimized for anti-stealth operations. The MQ-9B LoyalEye, meanwhile, prioritizes affordability, flexibility, and scalability through the use of a proven airframe equipped with modular sensors.
The emergence of an affordable unmanned AEW capability could have important implications for military balances in several regions.
In South Asia, defense analysts are already assessing what such a capability might mean if eventually acquired by Pakistan.
The Pakistan Air Force currently operates one of the world’s largest fleets of Saab Erieye aircraft. As of mid-2026, the service reportedly fields nine Saab 2000 Erieye AEW&C aircraft, providing extensive airborne surveillance coverage.
Should an MQ-9B-based AEW platform become available for export, it could offer Pakistan a means of significantly expanding airborne surveillance capacity at a fraction of the cost associated with additional manned aircraft.
Even if political restrictions were to complicate exports of the MQ-9B itself, analysts note that Saab’s radar technology could theoretically be adapted to alternative medium-altitude, long-endurance platforms.
One candidate frequently mentioned is Türkiye’s Bayraktar Akıncı unmanned combat aerial vehicle.
Integrating the LoyalEye radar onto the Akıncı would not be straightforward. The Turkish platform’s payload capacity of approximately 1,500 kilograms is considerably lower than the MQ-9B’s estimated 2,500-kilogram capability, creating challenges once fuel, sensors, and other mission equipment are included.
However, the Akıncı’s twin turboprop engines, producing up to 850 horsepower each, may offer substantial electrical generation capacity and redundancy, potentially supporting demanding radar systems.
For India and other regional powers, the prospect of relatively inexpensive unmanned AEW fleets could complicate future air-defense planning.
The maiden flight of the MQ-9B LoyalEye represents more than the testing of a new radar-equipped drone. It highlights a broader trend toward distributing high-end military capabilities across larger numbers of lower-cost unmanned systems.
For decades, airborne early warning capabilities have been concentrated in a handful of expensive and highly specialized aircraft. The collaboration between GA-ASI and Saab suggests that technological advances are beginning to challenge that model.
If the forthcoming demonstration campaign proves successful, the MQ-9B LoyalEye could become the first operational unmanned AEW platform to offer capabilities approaching those of traditional crewed systems while delivering substantial advantages in endurance, cost, and survivability.
