General Atomics to Weaponize French MQ-9 Combat Drones

General Atomics has won a $18 million contract action to weaponize France’s MQ‐9 Block 5 drones.

“General Atomics has been awarded a $18 million action for the France MQ‐9 Block 5 weaponization and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) Pod Integration effort,” the US Department of Defense said in a statement Friday.  

This contract provides for the weaponization of the French Air Force MQ‐9 Block 5 aircraft and integration of the FMS Pod onto the French Air Force MQ‐9 Block 5 aircraft.

Work is expected to be complete by November 30, 2021.

The MQ-9 Reaper (sometimes called Predator B) is a UAV capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations. It is the first hunter-killer UAV designed for long-endurance, high-altitude surveillance. Predator B has an endurance of over 27 hours, a speed of 240 knots true airspeed, can operate at an altitude of up to 50,000 feet, and has a 3,850 pound (1,746 kg) payload capacity that includes 3,000 pounds (1,361 kg) of external stores.