GENERAL ATOMICS ANNOUNCES CONTRACT WITH ITALY FOR AIRCRAFT FIRMPLANS TEST BASE BY LAKE LOS ANGELES.Byline: Daily News General Atomics General Atomics is a nuclear physics and defense contractor headquartered in San Diego, California. Among other things, it is the manufacturer of the Predator unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Aeronautical aer·o·nau·tic also aer·o·nau·ti·cal adj. Of or relating to aeronautics. aer  o·nau Systems Inc. announced that it has
received a contract to deliver the Predator remotely operated aircraft Remotely Operated Aircraft (or RPA) was a term previously used by NASA and the FAA in place of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle or Unmanned Aircraft System. See also
The contract, valued at $60 million, includes options for the planned purchased of additional aircraft and a number of General Atomics Lynx synthetic aperture radars to support all-weather operations. Production will commence immediately with deliveries scheduled within seven to nine months. Based in San Diego San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. , General Atomics Aeronautical Systems is opening a test base outside Lake Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. to check out planes before their delivery. ``Since 1994, the Predator system has been operated by the U.S. Air Force and has proven its military utility as an essential intelligence gatherer and targeting system,'' said Thomas J. Cassidy Jr., GA-ASI's president and chief executive officer. ``It will play an essential reconnaissance and surveillance role for the Italian Air Force in both military and commercial applications.'' Controlled by a pilot watching video screens on the ground, the Predator first flew in 1994 and was put to use by the Air Force a year later. The jet-powered Predator B, the next generation Predator, has been flying since February 2001. The Predator carries video cameras plus a radar that can see through clouds to watch objects - like soldiers or vehicles - on the ground, sending imagines via a satellite data link. |
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