General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has been awarded a $9.6 million U.S. Missile Defense Agency contract to develop laser tracking systems for the MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle.

Under the cost-plus-fixed-fee contract, the company will design, build and test in the lab key laser subsystems to demonstrate precision tracking.

The contract also calls for the company to perform systems-level analyses and performance assessments based on design prediction and laboratory measurements.

A MQ-9 flight representative laser system with the beam train optics required to upgrade a multi-spectral targeting system for use as an active tracking sensor will also be developed and demonstrated.

The company will also deliver a laser system that is sized to meet MQ-9 integration requirements.

Work will be conducted in California and has a September 2017 completion date.

The Missile Defense Agency is the contracting activity.