General Atomics' MQ-9B SeaGuardian Drone Hunts Submarines with Expanded Sonobuoy System
U.S. defense contractor General Atomics has successfully flight-tested its MQ-9B SeaGuardian drone equipped with a new Expanded Sonobuoy Dispensing System (ESDS), allowing it to hunt submarines with sophisticated sonar buoys. The upgrade, doubling the drone’s sonobuoy payload, enables long-endurance, unmanned patrols to relieve crewed aircraft like the P-8A Poseidon in the critical mission of tracking hostile subs.
The hunt for submarines has entered a new, unmanned era. You can no longer hide beneath the waves from a watchful eye in the sky—especially when that eye is a drone that can patrol relentlessly for over a day. General Atomics (GA), a leading American defense manufacturer, has successfully tested a game-changing capability for its MQ-9B SeaGuardian maritime drone: the ability to independently hunt submarines using advanced sonobuoys.
Anti-submarine warfare (ASW) is one of the most demanding and vital missions for any modern navy. From tracking nuclear-armed ballistic missile submarines to protecting shipping lanes, the task requires persistent surveillance over vast ocean areas. Traditionally, this falls to crewed aircraft like the P-8A Poseidon, but human endurance and cost create limitations. General Atomics and the U.S. Navy are solving this by turning to high-endurance drones.
The key to this new capability is the Expanded Sonobuoy Dispensing System (ESDS), recently tested on the SeaGuardian. Sonobuoys are expendable, canister-like instruments dropped from aircraft. They splash down and deploy sensors to listen passively or send out active sonar pings to detect submarine movements.
The new ESDS pods effectively double the drone’s sonobuoy payload capacity and, for the first time on this platform, allow it to deploy the latest Multi-static Active Coherent (MAC) sonobuoys. This technology creates a networked sonar field, making it exponentially harder for a submarine to hide.
“Expanding sonobuoy capacity, including Multi-static Active Coherent (MAC) technology for SeaGuardian, has been an integral part of our advanced ASW strategy to broaden and enhance search areas,” said David R. Alexander, President of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI), in a statement reported by New Atlas. “The wider maritime coverage our MQ-9B’s ASW capability provides is extremely valuable to our customers.”
The strategic advantage is profound. While a P-8A Poseidon crew might manage about four hours on station before fatigue sets in, the MQ-9B SeaGuardian can patrol for over 24 hours without a break. This allows the scarce and expensive crewed aircraft to focus on complex, high-priority tasks, while drones handle the tedious, long-duration monitoring. The SeaGuardian acts as a massive force multiplier, extending the navy’s perceptual reach across oceans.
This development is the culmination of years of work, with demonstrations beginning back in 2017. The latest December tests mark a significant maturation of the system, moving it closer to operational deployment. It represents a direct response to a renewed era of great-power competition, where peer adversaries operate large, modern submarine fleets.
The implication is clear: the future of maritime patrol is unmanned. By combining the MQ-9B SeaGuardian’s legendary endurance with advanced sonobuoy technology, General Atomics is providing a persistent, undeterrable watch over the world’s oceans. For submariners, the surface just became a much more watched place.