Australia has agreed to purchase up to 16 Reaper drones from US defence contractor General Atomics to provide overhead coverage for Australian soldiers and conduct remote airstrikes. Defence Minister Christopher Pyne said the unmanned aircraft, which has a flight time of 27 hours and is bigger than its predecessor the Predator, would give the Australian military the capability to stay in the sky for longer without risking aircrew safety. The drone will be used by troops on operations around Australia, including those at home or overseas, as well as overseas deployments such as Afghanistan. each, the whole contract will be worth at least AUD400m when extras are factored in.
Australia has agreed to purchase up to 16 Reaper drones from US defence contractor General Atomics to provide overhead coverage for Australian soldiers and conduct remote airstrikes. Defence Minister Christopher Pyne said the unmanned aircraft, which has a flight time of 27 hours and is bigger than its predecessor the Predator, would give the Australian military the capability to stay in the sky for longer without risking aircrew safety. At a price of AUD23m ($16.8m) each, the whole contract will be worth at least AUD400m when extras are factored in.