General Atomics To Develop Laser Tracking For MQ-9 Reaper

General Atomics has won a $9.6 million U.S. Missile Defense Agency contract to develop laser tracking systems for the MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle.

Under the contract, the company announced Monday that it will design, build and test in the lab key laser subsystems to demonstrate precision tracking.

The company will also perform systems-level analyses and performance assessments based on design prediction and laboratory measurements.

A MQ-9 flight representative laser system with the beam train optics required to upgrade a multi-spectral targeting system for use as an active tracking sensor.

The company will also deliver a laser system that is sized to meet MQ-9 integration requirements. Work will be conducted in California and has a September 2017 completion date.

The Missile Defense Agency is the contracting activity.