ISR drone to be supplied to U.S. Navy expeditionary mobile base by Textron
NewsOctober 21, 2022
HUNT VALLEY, Maryland. Textron Systems has received a $22 million contract from Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) to provide operational support for unmanned aircraft that will conduct intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) work while operating from the expeditionary mobile base USS Miguel Keith (T-ESB-5), the company announced in a statement.
Textron Systems will deploy its Aerosonde UAS aboard ESB-5, and the company's field service representatives will be on the ship to work with sailors on a variety of maritime missions, the statement reads.
The contract begins in fiscal 2023 and will last five years. It builds on the four-year extension of the USS Hershel "Woody" Williams (T-ESB-4) earlier this year, and the UAS has also supported two destroyers, making ESB-5 the fourth ship to use the Aerosonde UAS system, the company says.
The Aerosonde system has a total of 585,000 recorded flight hours, operating both for the United States and several other countries. The company says it can be used in both land- and sea-based operations.
