A third follow-on contract has been given to Exelis for production of weapons carriage and release racks for B/MQ-9 unmanned aircraft used by the U.S. military.

The award is worth more than $27 million and was issued by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc, manufacturer of the MQ-9 Reaper, formerly called the Predator B.

A total of 69 BRU-71/A systems are to be produced under the award.

"Unmanned and remotely piloted platforms are important to an increasingly wide range of missions," said Pete Martin, vice president and general manager of the Exelis electronic attack and release systems business. "It is essential that the technologies they rely on, like our carriage and release systems, are designed to enhance their performance and endurance to support mission success into the future."

Exelis' BRU-71/A is a pneumatic carriage and release system that is one-third the weight of existing racks in its class and offers ease of loading via independent, self-latching hooks. Since compressed air instead of impulse cartridges is used by the system for weapons release, high reliability is attained and cleaning and maintenance of the racks is easier.

Exelis said deliveries under the order will begin in October and conclude in August of 2016.

Exelis has produced 728 BRU-71/A units under previous contracts from General Atomics Aeronautical Systems.