General Atomics Aeronautical Systems has received a $27 million modification to an existing contract for service support to the Grey Eagle unmanned aerial system program.
The work will be conducted in Poway, Calif., and will run through March 17, 2019.
The Grey Eagle is a derivative of the Predator drone designed for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strike missions. It has a flight endurance of over 25 hours and can operate as high as 29,000 feet.
It has a maximum payload capacity of 1,075 pounds. It is capable of mounting electro-optical and infrared cameras for target detection and can mount up to four Hellfire laser-guided missiles. It can carry its own laser designator for targeting of its own ordnance or for other platforms.
The Grey Eagle as a automatic take-off and landing system that enables it to launch and land without any direct control from operators. It can use any standard U.S. military fuel to ease logistical burdens.
Drones can almost see in the dark
To fly safely, drones need to know their precise position and orientation in space at all times. While commercial drones solve this problem using GPS, this only works outdoors, and is not very reliable, especially in urban environments.
Furthermore, the conventional cameras mounted on drones work only when there is a high amount of light available, and the drone's speed has to be limited o … read more
