AUSA 2015: GA-ASI awarded US Army contract for improved MQ-1C UAV

[Zarvan]

GA-ASI is to supply the US Army with 19 more Gray Eagle UAVs under a USD132.7 million contract announced on 16 March. The 19 aircraft are in a new 'extended range' configuration. Source: GA-ASI
Key Points

• GA-ASI has been awarded a full-rate production contract by the US Army for 19 MQ-1C IGE UAVs
• The IGE features increased endurance and a variety of new sensor and weapons payloads

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) has been awarded a full-rate production contract by the US Army for 19 MQ-1C Improved Gray Eagle (IGE) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to be delivered by September 2018, the company announced on 14 October during the Association of the United States Army's (AUSA) annual conference in Washington, DC.

IGE, developed by GA-ASI using internal research and development (IRAD) funds, has larger fuel tanks for longer persistence, Colonel Courtney Cote, project manager for unmanned aircraft systems at the army's programme executive office for aviation, said during a 13 October press briefing at the conference.

Col Cote added that the new variant will be operated by United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) and US Army Intelligence and Security Command (INSCOM). Due to many hardware and software commonalities with the baseline Gray Eagle, IGE can, however, be based and maintained with the existing fleet, according to a GA-ASI press statement. In addition to increased endurance, the IGE features a variety of sensor and weapons payloads, according to GA-ASI.

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AUSA 2015: GA-ASI awarded US Army contract for improved MQ-1C UAV - IHS Jane's 360