Exelis Receives 3rd Order for GA-ASI Drone Carriage and Release Systems; Pete Martin Comments

Exelis will continue to manufacture pneumatic carriage and release systems for the MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle under a $27 million contract from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems.

The follow-on contract for 619 units of the BRU-71/A ejector rack is the third such order from the California-based aeronautics firm, with work to occur in Amityville, New York, through August 2016, Exelis said Wednesday.

The original contract awarded in 2011 was for 200 units, with another 500 orders placed in 2013.

The MQ-9 remotely piloted aircraft is outfitted with the BRU-71/A, which uses compressed air technology to deploy its payload.

“Unmanned and remotely piloted platforms are important to an increasingly wide range of missions,” said Pete Martin, vice president and general manager of the Exelis electronic attack and release systems business.

“It is essential that the technologies they rely on, like our carriage and release systems, are designed to enhance their performance and endurance to support mission success into the future.”