some equipment, whether it is weapons or other equipment, to be able, when it is patrolling the Arctic, to carry a search-and-rescue package that I can drop any time I want or need to,” Blondin said. “For UAS, we are looking at the requirement to work from home to be able to do maritime patrol, to do a bit of what the Auroras are doing and be able to patrol the coast,” he added. Aurora maritime surveillance aircraft are a variant of the US Navy’s P-3 Orion. UAS are also going to need greater range and endurance for long patrols, and “be our eyes in the sky in the Arctic”, said Blondin.The Air Force did not respond to questions about whether it would be willing to fund research and testing into adding equipment transport capability to UAS. 
But a National Defense Department source said the Air Force hopes industry will provide solutions to Canada’s project to purchase the UAS, known as the Canadian Forces Joint UAV Surveillance and Target Acquisition System (JUSTAS). Adding additional weight for every mission of an unmanned mission is unlikely as the extra weight will reduce the volume of fuel carried on board, dramatically reducing mission endurance, increasing system’s wear (due to excessive takeoff and landing) and increasing the risk of losing aircraft (caused often by takeoff or landing)
The Air Force’s quest for leading-edge UAS technology has raised some concerns. John McKay, the defense critic for the opposition Liberal Party in the House of Commons, said he is worried that adding such a capability would further delay JUSTAS, which has already fallen years behind schedule.
Photos:
Top: Guardian is a marinized verstion of the MQ-9 Reaper, designed for maritime and border patrol missions – General Atomics
Middle: Hermes 900 Maritime Equipped with Maritime Patrol Radar (MPR) and EO & IR Payloads – Elbit Systems
Bottom: Heron Maritime – IAI
Source: Defense Update