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The Canadian government announced Friday it is buying an existing unmanned aerial surveillance system, through a government-to-government contractual arrangement. The deal is being handled through the U.S. Foreign Military Sales program. The contract is valued at US $14.2 million and includes initial training.

The RQ-21A Blackjack is a small unmanned aircraft that will provide the Canadian Army with persistent, real-time intelligence through aerial surveillance and reconnaissance, the government noted in a statement. “It is a critical component of the Land Force Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance program,” the government added.

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Canada is the first foreign military to acquire the system from the U.S. Navy, according to Canadian officials. The system includes five unmanned aircraft, two ground control stations and one launch and recovery system. Each aircraft is capable of providing surveillance coverage of over 100 km for over 12 hours.

The Blackjack is produced by Boeing Insitu, based in Bingen, Washington. Once delivered to the Canadian Army in 2017, the system will be based out of Canadian Forces Base Gagetown and operated by the 4th Artillery Regiment (General Support), the Canadian government noted.

Photos below courtesy of the U.S. Department of Defense. They show the U.S. Marines operating the RQ-21A Blackjack.