Insitu tapped to manage ScanEagle UAS in Afghanistan

March 29 (UPI) -- Insitu Inc. has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Navy for eight ScanEagle unmanned aircraft systems.

The deal, announced Wednesday by the Department of Defense, is valued at more than $47 million under the terms of a firm-fixed-price delivery order contract, which is a modification to a previous basic order agreement, the Pentagon said.

The agreement enables Insitu Inc. to provide eight ScanEagle unmanned aircraft systems, along with spares and support equipment.

The ScanEagle is an unmanned aerial vehicle with a 10-foot wingspan that provides intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance data to combatant units.

The unmanned aerial system can hover over a target area for over 24 hours at a maximum altitude of 19,500 feet and carry a variety of sensor payloads and other mission gear.

The ScanEagle is designed to be launched from makeshift sites using a catapult and a hook-and-line recovery line, eliminating the need for a runway.

The contract will additionally provide one logistician field service representative and 16 field service representatives for technical services on the ScanEagle.

Moreover, two site survey and site activation teams will stand up ScanEagle operations and provide program management to sustain and operate the ScanEagle program for Afghanistan, according to the Defense Department.

Work on the contract will occur in Afghanistan and Bingen, Wash., and is expected to be complete in March 2019.

The total amount of the contract will be obligated to Insitu Inc. at the time of award from fiscal 2018 Afghan Security Forces funds.