General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has been awarded a $206 million contract to retrofit 122 MQ-9 Block 5 aircraft, the US Department of Defence announced on 16 May. Work is expected to be complete by 20 June 2024.Â
General Atomics will retrofit the MQ-9 Block 5 Reaper drones with extended-range, beyond-line-of-sight, and Barrett asymmetrical digital datalink computer (BADDC) router modification kits. These upgrades will enable the upgraded Reaper Block 5 unmanned aircraft to carry external fuel pods to extend their mission range.Â
The turboprop-powered, multi-mission Reaper armed drone can fly for more than 27 hours between refueling at speeds to 240 knots at altitudes to 50,000 feet. The medium-endurance UAV can carry payloads up to 1,750 kg. Reaper is able to carry four Hellfire missiles, two GBU-12 Paveway II laser-guided bombs, or two GBU-38 Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMs).Â
French soldiers scan the horizon for possible threats with the French weapon system during exercise Ramstein Legacy 22. NATO and partner nations are taking part in exercise Ramstein Legacy 22, a NATO large-scale live-fire air defence exercise. Seventeen Allied and partner countries trained in Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Poland with aircraft, missile defence systems and electronic warfare systems from 6 to 10 June 2022.