General Atomics Aeronautical Systems is adapting its Block 30 Ground Control Stations, which are typically used to remotely pilot MQ-9A Reapers, to be capable of also operating its newer MQ-9B SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian drones.

“When these upgrades are complete, they will enable current users of the Block 30 system, originally designed to fly the MQ-9A Reaper, to keep that equipment and use it to operate the more capable aircraft,” the company wrote in a news release issued this morning.

GA-ASI will need to make some hardware modifications to the GCS to equip it to fly MQ-9Bs, including installing a new datalink rack to be better suited for that platform’s communications and telemetry system. Other software upgrades will also be required to allow GCS users to switch between either variant and accommodate the unique capabilities embedded in both, the firm said.

The changes to the Block 30 system come as Senate authorizers are calling on the Air Force to replenish its fleet of MQ-9As that have been destroyed during the conflict in Iran. The service does not currently operate the MQ-9B variant.

In the Senate Armed Services Committee’s version of next year’s policy bill, lawmakers want to increase the MQ-9 inventory by 2028 but are leaving it up to the Air Force to decide how they will fill those gaps.

Since GA-ASI no longer produces Reapers, the MQ-9B SkyGuardian and SeaGuardian versions of the drone are one option the Air Force may consider purchasing. If the service wants to stick with MQ-9As, it would have to either obtain company-owned ones from GA-ASI or refurbish old Reapers from the boneyard.

“GA-ASI developed the MQ-9B through its own internal research and development. The upgraded new aircraft required a new and more powerful GCS,” the company wrote in its announcement. “The ongoing work with the Block 30 GCS now means that prospective users with existing stocks of equipment wouldn’t need to buy new ground control equipment to operate the MQ-9B aircraft they acquired.”

Flight testing on the retrofitted Block 30 GCS is on track to begin by the end of 2026.