Air Force awards support work for Predator, Reaper
General Atomics to assist with program management, data collection and system maintenance
The Air Force has awarded General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. a $266 million contract to provide program and technical support for the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial systems.
Under the contract, General Atomics will furnish support and assistance in program and configuration management, logistics, technical services, flight and operations, software maintenance and data collection for the two UAS, Defense Department officials said Dec. 31.
The contractor also will handle urgent and depot repairs, inventory control, and spares management, the officials said.
The Predator is a medium-altitude, long-endurance reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition system that carries two Hellfire missiles. The Reaper is a medium-to-high-altitude, long endurance, hunter-killer system and is capable of carrying a combination of Hellfire missiles, laser-guided bombs and smart bombs.
The 703rd Aeronautical Systems Squadron at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., of Poway, Calif., is a unit of General Atomics, of San Diego.
About the Author
William Welsh is the managing editor of Defense Systems.