US Air Force Awards Contract for Target Drone Systems

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc. has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Air Force for BQM-167A Air Force Subscale Aerial Target (AFSAT) lots 17-21 production, as well as out-of-warranty-repairs and contractor logistics support.

BQM-167A is a sub-scale aerial target system used to provide a threat-representative target for the test and evaluation of new air-to-air weapons systems of the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Department of Defense.

The $338 million firm fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, time-and-material contract was awarded to the company’s Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) division, and work will be performed at a Kratos manufacturing facility. The U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, is the contracting activity.

“This five-year contract represents a milestone in our target system business and reduces the administrative burden on both the U.S. Air Force and Kratos by enabling multiple years of target delivery and support to be combined into a single contract – smart and efficient business,” said Steve Fendley, President of Kratos Unmanned Systems Division.

“It also enables Kratos and the U.S. Air Force to place even more focus on our ultimate mission, which is high performance threat representation for training and defensive system development. We have shared a great partnership and team approach with the U.S. Air Force throughout our nearly 20 years of working together on target systems. 

“We are excited that our system maturity warrants and enables the long-term contract, and proud that the U.S. Air Force has this confidence in our target systems and personnel.”

Eric DeMarco, President and CEO of Kratos Defense and Security Solutions, added, “Our entire organization is focused on providing affordable, disruptive and technology-leading products and systems to support Unites States National Security. We anticipate the award of multiple strategic contracts during the second half of this year.”