The US Air Force (USAF) intends to award General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc (GA-ASI) a contract to upgrade an additional number of its MQ-9 Reaper Block 1 unmanned aircraft systems to the extended range (ER) configuration, it disclosed on 4 December.
A pre-solicitation synopsis titled MQ-9 Reaper Extended Range (ER) (Additional Procurement) , posted on the US government’s FedBizOpps website, says that the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC) Medium Altitude UAS Division intends to award a contract on a sole source basis to GA-ASI.
The USAF has already indicated it is to upgrade 38 of its 104 MQ-9 Reapers to the ER configuration by July 2016, and this synopsis is in addition to this. No details pertaining to numbers of additional systems to be acquired, contract values, or timelines were revealed in the synopsis.
The Reaper ER modification involves the fitting of new wings containing extra fuel tanks and winglets. Additional (non-drop) fuel tanks can also be fitted to the aircraft’s underwing hardpoints for additional range. The baseline MQ-9 has an endurance of about 32 hours (clean), and while GA-ASI has not disclosed the endurance of the ER-upgraded vehicle, it is understood to be more than 40 hours.
Source: Jane’s 360