Insitu awarded contract for RQ-21 unmanned aerial vehicles

Insitu has received an $8.9 million order for spare parts and maintenance services for an existing contract for RQ-21A unmanned aerial vehicles.

Work on the contract, announced Monday by the Department of Defense, will be performed in Bingen, Wash., and is expected to be completed by March 2019. Marine Corps fiscal 2017 procurement funds in the amount of $8.9 million will be obligated at time of award.

The RQ-21A Blackjack is an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance unmanned aerial system used by the Marine Corps and Navy. It uses a catapult for launch and a hook-and-line system for recovery, obviating the need for a runway and letting it be deployed from both land and ships.

Each system is composed of five aircraft, two ground command units and a launch and recovery system. The Blackjack can carry several kinds of mission payloads, including surveillance video, communications relays and target designation gear such as lasers.

It has a range of over 30 miles and can stay in the air for up to 16 hours depending on the mission. It was first deployed by the Marine Corps in 2016.

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