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AAI awarded $475M Special Operations drone contract

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An RQ-7B v2 Shadow belonging to Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 3 (VMU-3), “Phantoms,” takes flight for an aerial reconnaissance during Lava Viper 17.1, at Cooper Air Strip aboard the Pohakuloa Training Area, on the big Island of Hawaii, Oct. 19, 2016. Lava Viper is an annual combined arms training exercise that integrates ground elements such as infantry and logistics, with indirect fire from artillery units as well as air support from the aviation element. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Ricky S. Gomez)

AAI has been awarded a contract, with a maximum value of $475 million, to provide UAVs for U.S. Special Operations Command.

Under the indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract, AAI will provide “mid-endurance unmanned aircraft systems intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance services at multiple locations worldwide,” according to the Department of Defense contract announcement.

The contract includes four one-year ordering periods and an additional ordering period of six months. The contract is scheduled to be completed by July 2022.

AAI manufactures the RQ-7B Shadow tactical UAV as well as the Aerosonde small UAV. 

About 

Michael Peck is a correspondent for Defense News and a columnist for the Center for European Policy Analysis. He holds an M.A. in political science from Rutgers University. Find him at theuncommondefense.com. His email is mikedefense1@gmail.com.