After more tests completed last month, the Navy and Marines have decided that the RQ-21A Blackjack drone is worth the gamble. They're putting money on the program that could provide them with a dedicated multi-intelligence drone in a matter of months.

Naval Air Command officials awarded an $8.8 million contract last week to Boeing subsidiary Insitu for one low-rate initial production of an RQ-21A Blackjack UAV system that includes one aircraft, ground control stations, and launch and recovery equipment.

What makes Blackjack attractive is its ability to adapt to different land and sea environments and tactical situations. The multi-mission Blackjack payload bays can be customized with visible-light imager, infrared cameras, communications and other tools.

"The system is modular, flexible and multi-mission capable, providing roll-on, roll-off transitions between land and maritime environments," according to Insitu.

"It has a configurable payload that allows you to integrate new and unique payloads that are specific to the mission in addition to an [electro-optical/infrared] camera," said Maj. Wayne Phelps, the Marine Corps' requirements officer of the aviation branch. "You can have multi-mission ability. This allows you to do some type of unique cross-cueing types of missions."

Blackjack, which is 8 feet long and has a wingspan of 16 feet, weighs 80 pounds, making it a small tactical drone that can fly as fast as 104 mph and as high as 19,500 feet for more than 13 hours. It can be launched and recovered on land or at sea without runways using a hydraulic launcher and a net recovery system.

The funding, which is a modification of a previous contract, will come from the Marine Corps with work expected to be completed by May 2014.