TARGET DRONE BRINGS PACT BAE'S 3RD DEAL IS $17 MILLION.Byline: Daily News MOJAVE - BAE Systems BAE Systems British manufacturer of aircraft, missiles, avionics, naval vessels, and other aerospace and defense products. BAE Systems was formed (1999) from the merger of British Aerospace (BAe) with Marconi Electronic Systems. received a $17 million Air Force contract to continue its work of modifying Vietnam War-era F-4 fighter jets into aerial target drones. BAE Systems Flight Systems operations in Mojave will convert at least 13 F-4E aircraft into QF-4 drones, which are used as targets in developing and testing weapons by the U.S. military and allies. ``Much work was done - as part of this contract - to improve reliability and availability of QF-4s for our war fighters and testers,'' said Air Force Lt. Col. Jeff Robertson, director of the Air Force Aerial Target Systems, Counterair Joint Systems Program Office at Eglin Air Force Base Eglin Air Force Base is the home of the United States Air Force 96th Air Base Wing of the Air Force Materiel Command, and is also headquarters for more than 45 associate units. in Florida. The aircraft are modified by installing equipment to let them maneuver maneuver /ma·neu·ver/ (mah-noo´ver) a skillful or dextrous method or procedure. Bracht's maneuver a method of extraction of the aftercoming head in breech presentation. by remote control at the Eglin Gulf Range and White Sands Missile Range White Sands Missile Range (WSMR), formerly known as the White Sands Proving Grounds, is a rocket range in New Mexico operated by the United States Army. The range covers an area of almost 3,200 mi² (8 287 km²), approximately three times the size of Rhode Island, making it in New Mexico New Mexico, state in the SW United States. At its northwestern corner are the so-called Four Corners, where Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, and Utah meet at right angles; New Mexico is also bordered by Oklahoma (NE), Texas (E, S), and Mexico (S). . ``Each new air-to-air and ground-to-air weapon is tested against our realistic target during its development. This ensures that new weapons have proven effective against a realistic threat before the war fighter uses them in combat,'' said Paul Nafziger, BAE Systems Flight Systems vice president and general manager. Work on the contract will be completed in 2006. Options to the contract could have the potential of a $230 million value over 10 years. This is the third contract awarded to BAE Systems to produce and deliver the target drones to the Air Force since 1992. |
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