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Navy buys more Blackjack drones

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U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Mark W. Freas, an unmanned aerial vehicle maintainer assigned to Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 2, performs a preflight check on an RQ-21A Blackjack prior to a training flight at Marine Corps Outlying Field Atlantic Field on July 1, 2015. The training flight was conducted to ensure the safety and stability of the small unmanned aircraft system. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Lance Cpl. Koby I. Saunders/Released)

Insitu has been awarded a $70.8 million contract modification for additional RQ-21A Blackjack UAVs.

Insitu will provide six full-rate production Lot 1 Blackjacks, with three going to the Navy and three going to the Marine Corps, according to the Department of Defense contract announcement. The package includes UAVs, ground control stations, multimission payloads, launch and recovery equipment, and systems engineering and program management.  

The contract is scheduled to be completed by February 2018. The contract was awarded by Naval Air Systems Command.

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.