AMITYVILLE, N.Y., Nov. 5 (UPI) -- Exelis has announced it is producing bomb carrier and ejection racks for the U.S. military's MQ-9B Predator/Reaper drones in Amityville, N.Y.
More than 500 Exelis BRU-71/A units, which use compressed air instead of electro-explosive charges to deploy the weapons, will be provided under the $20 million contract from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., which manufactures the remote-controlled, unmanned aircraft.
"The BRU-71/A delivers an advanced, high-performance airborne carriage and release capability," said Pete Martin, director of defense systems for the Exelis electronic attack and release systems business area. "It is also one-third the weight of existing ejector racks in its class, a critical factor in the performance and endurance of unmanned platforms."
The contract is a second follow-on award for the system. Exelis said production under the new contract begins this month and will be completed by June 2015.
Work will be performed at the Exelis Electronic Systems facility in Amityville.
