Insitu receives contract for ScanEagle UAVs for Afghanistan

July 25 (UPI) -- Insitu out of Bingen WA has received $10.8 million for a modification to an existing contract for ScanEagle unmanned aircraft systems.

The contract, announced Tuesday by the Department of Defense, provides for the procurement of 27 ScanEagles, spare parts and 37 payloads for the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan.

The ScanEagle is an unmanned aerial vehicle with a 10 ft. wingspan that provides intelligence surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance data with high endurance.

The aircraft can loiter over a target area for over 24 hours at a maximum altitude of 19,000 ft. and carry a variety of sensor payloads and other mission gear. It is designed to be launched from makeshift sites using a catapult and a hook-and-line recovery line, so it does not require a runway.

Insitu also operates the U.S. Special Operations Command's MEUAS program using ScanEagles under a contractor-run fee-for-service model for ISTAR services. The ScanEagle MEUAS program has been in service since 2004 when it was first introduced in Iraq.

Work will be performed in Bingen, Wash., and is expected to be completed in December 2019. Fiscal 2017 funds in the amount of $10.8 million will be obligated at time of award, with the funding set to expire at the end of the fiscal year.