AAI Corporation has been awarded a $97.1 million modification to an Army contract for the full-rate production of a tactical datalink retrofit for the Shadow Tactical unmanned aircraft system, the U.S. Department of Defense revealed Friday.
According to AAI’s parent company, Textron, the Shadow UAS is used by U.S. Army and Marine Corps “for reconnaissance, surveillance, targeting, and assessment.” The UAS is capable of spotting a target up to 125 kilometers (roughly 77 miles) away from a tactical operations center, and can recognize vehicles located up to 8,000 feet from the ground.
The labor will be conducted in Hunt Valley, Md., and should be finished on Oct. 31, 2018.
Spc. Jeremy Squirres of Company A, 101st Military Intelligence Battalion, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Infantry Division, prepares a Shadow 200 Unmanned Aerial Vehicle for launch at Forward Operating Base Warhorse, Iraq in 2004. (Image: Spc. James B. Smith Jr./U.S. Army)
The DoD also announced that General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has been awarded a $34 million contract for software support benefiting the Air Force Special Operations Command’s MQ-9 UAS.
The company will create and field the MQ-9 medium altitude long endurance tactical (MALET) lead-off hitter (LOH) software line. General Atomics will also develop a system to quickly field capabilities necessitated by issues such as software defects, threats, policy changes, and software changes caused by hardware upgrades. Nearly $12 million in fiscal 2016 research, development, test and evaluation funds will be assigned with the award. The labor will be conducted in Poway, Calif., Clovis, N.M., and Ft. Walton Beach, Fla., and should be finished by Feb. 28, 2018.
Leidos has been given a $21 million Air Force contract for analysis and simulation related to optical beam control.
According to the DoD, Leidos will “provide advanced technology exploration, development and research into optical beam control in the presence of atmospheric turbulence to develop, simulate, analyze, and characterize beam control systems for laser propagation and laser communication.”
Leidos was the only company to place a bid on the cost-plus-fixed-fee contract. The work will be be conducted at Kirtland Air Force Base, N.M., and should be finished by Jan. 23, 2021.
Northrop Grumman Aerospace Systems will be given $8.1 million after an option was exercised on a Navy contract tasking the company with producing engines and additional support benefiting the MQ-8 Fire Scout UAS. All of the funding will expire at the end of the 2016 fiscal year. The majority of the labor (90 percent) will be conducted in San Diego, while the remaining work will be performed in Point Mugu, Calif. All of the labor should be finished in December 2016.
Filed Under: Aerospace + defense