U.S. company Goodrich was contracted by the Naval Research Laboratory for its CA-247 sensors. Officials say the CA-247 wide-area persistent surveillance systems will go to support the U.S. military's airborne surveillance capabilities providing enhanced situational awareness in urban combat environments.

Goodrich says its CA-247 sensors are equipped with infrared capabilities and other advanced optics as part of a system that can operate for long periods of time.

"The wide area persistent surveillance concept is the next step in the evolution of aerial reconnaissance," Tom Bergeron, Goodrich ISR Systems president, said in a statement.