US Awards $191Mln Unmanned Drone Contract - Pentagon

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States is awarding over $191 million to Boeing subsidiary Insitu Inc. as part of a contract for reconnaissance drone systems such as the ScanEagle and Blackjack, the Pentagon said in a statement.

"Insitu Inc., Bingen, Washington, is awarded a $191,835,973 firm-fixed-price modification to a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This modification adds scope to procure 13 RQ-21A Blackjack air vehicles, 25 ScanEagle air vehicles, 48 RQ-21A and ScanEagle payloads and turrets, support equipment, spares and sustainment spares and tools in support of RQ-21A Blackjack and ScanEagle unmanned aircraft platforms for the Navy, Marine Corps, and Foreign Military Sales customers," the Pentagon said on Wednesday.

The ScanEagle and Blackjack drones are unmanned aerial vehicles designed for forward reconnaissance. The two drones use the same launch and recovery system.

The ScanEagle systems are among those being sent by the Pentagon to Ukraine for use against Russian forces.