General Atomics Aeronautical Systems is gearing up to integrate the SYERS-3 multispectral imagery sensor on the Predator C Avenger jet-powered remotely piloted aircraft, said Frank Pace, president of the company’s Aircraft Systems Group. SYERS-3, built by UTC Aerospace Systems, is the follow-on to the SYERS-2 sensor that resides on the Air Force’s U-2 surveillance airplanes. “We have done all the studies” for the integration, said Pace during an interview on June 18 in Le Bourget, France, during the 50th Paris Air Show. The company is waiting on the contract for the integration, he said. The large-sized SYERS-3 would reside in the Avenger’s internal payload bay, said Pace. With it, the Avenger would carry electro-optical/infrared cameras that are “better than” those currently on the Air Force’s RQ-4 Global Hawks, he said.
The Air Force and Boeing agreed to a nearly $2.4 billion contract for a new lot of KC-46 aerial tankers on Nov. 21. The deal, announced by the Pentagon, is for 15 new aircraft in Lot 11 at a cost of $2.389 billion—some $159 million per tail.