The NATO POD, designed and manufactured by SENER Aeroespacial, is an enclosure designed to be a versatile, flexible and multi-purpose complement for the current and future MQ-9 (Remotely Piloted Aircraft) by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems.

The program is a joint effort of the two companies, in which SENER Aerospace specifies and designs the NATO POD based on General Atomics’ initial requirements.

Project design and scope

The NATO Pod will be integrated into the MQ-9 to complement and increase its capabilities and is aimed at the European NATO market and other international users. This will allow operators to easily incorporate sovereign payloads and reduce integration, certification and costs times. SENER Aerospace’s scope of work covers design, manufacturing and integration. The resulting structure is certifiable under European standards, regardless of the payloads hosted or the modifications applicable to their installation.

Capabilities

The NATO POD/CMP  is a certifiable, multi-purpose, multi-mission, multi-platform, flexible and scalable enclosure ready to integrate payloads that complement or contribute to the MQ-9 and in the future to other platforms with capabilities such as:

• SIGINT (COMINT/ELINT/SATCOM/GSM)
• IMINT (WAMI/LOROP)
• Extended Communications
• Surviveability
• Anti-jam GPS
• Airborne Remote Sensing
• JAMMING
• ASW
• Oil Spilling detection
• European Sovereignty
• Interoperability

These capabilities, supplemented or new, strengthen the MQ-9 system to carry out its border surveillance, maritime surveillance and anti-terrorism missions, as well as missions in the civil sector, such as fire detection and coordination or maritime safety and oil spill control. Thanks to the NATO Pod, all of them will benefit from enhanced performance, security and persistence.