Poway Company Lands Defense Contract

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems was awarded an $84.8 million contract to provide logistics and hardware support for its MQ-1C Gray Eagle unmanned aircraft, the U.S. Defense Department announced Wednesday.

The Gray Eagle is the Poway-based company’s follow-up to the Predator unmanned aerial system. The aircraft are remotely piloted and used for reconnaissance and attacking targets.

In April, the Defense Media Network reported that the Gray Eagle, which can fly for 30 hours straight at altitudes up to 29,000 feet, fired Hellfire missiles for the first time in Afghanistan.

The deal runs through March 2013.

— City News Service