General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI), an affiliate of privately-held General Atomics, was awarded a $9,9 million contract modification for continuation effort for the Gray Eagle Unmanned Aircraft System, the Pentagon announced Thursday.

This contract is funded by the U.S. Army. Work will be performed in Poway, California, with an estimated completion date of April 23, 2021.

The MQ-1C Gray Eagle is an extended range / multipurpose (ER/MP) unmanned aircraft system (UAS) developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems for the US Army.

Gray Eagle has an endurance of 25 hours, speeds up to167 KTAS, can operate up to 29,000 feet, and carries 1,075 lb (488 kg) of internal and external payload. The aircraft can carry multiple payloads aloft, including Electro-optical/Infrared (EO/IR) with laser designation, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), communications relay, and four Hellfire missiles.

Compared to the Predator predecessor, Gray Eagle’s Heavy Fuel Engine (HFE) supports the Army’s “single fuel in the battlefield” concept and provides increased horsepower and significantly improved fuel efficiency, utilizing either jet or diesel fuel.