General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has been awarded a $125.5 million government contract to provide the Air Force with 10 modified MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aircraft, the US Defense Department announced on Monday.
The remotely piloted aircraft are scheduled to be delivered to the Air Force in 2014, General Atomics spokeswoman Kimberly Kasitz said. The contract also includes the cost of the accompanying shipping containers.
The Air Force has now purchased 12 of the newer MQ-9 Reaper models, Kasitz said. The first two are scheduled to be delivered next year.
General Atomics announced the first successful test flight of this newest model, called Block 1-plus, in September.
The new model “is an important technological achievement that will provide increased effectiveness, increased multi-mission flexibility and even greater reliability,” Frank Pace, General Atomics’ president of Aircraft Systems Group, said in a prepared statement.
Source: North County Times