NAVAIR selects General Atomics for continued MQ-9 work
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has received a $15.5 million contract modification from US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), for site relocation activities and continued ISR services using contractor-owned/contractor-operated MQ-9 Reaper UAS.
Work will take place in Arizona, California and other locations outside the continental US, for completion by December 2020.
The US and eight allied countries operate the MQ-9 (or the MQ-9B variant). Shephard Defence Insight notes that the FY2021 US defence budget will see the final DoD procurement of the MQ-9 and the production line is expected to begin shutting down in 2021 once the last 48 aircraft have been produced.
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