The US Navy has received two retrofitted unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), BQM-34 Firebee aerial targets, from Northrop Grumman.

Of the two retrofitted BQM-34 targets the first was regenerated with present avionics hardware and software capability from the high-ranked BQM-74E product line.

The avionics obsolescence issues with the oldest BQM-34 targets in the US Navy inventory were cleared in the retrofit programme.

The incorporation of modernised avionics includes fully autonomous waypoint navigation, an improved mission planning system and a vehicle avionics suite currently delivered with navy BQM-74 targets.

Northrop Grumman aerospace systems targets programme manager Hans Dall said the avionics upgrade into the BQM-34S will provide the navy with an extremely economical means to fulfil future target needs.

The company will retrofit a total of 15 BQM-34 Firebees fulfilling the two recent contracts awarded by the navy.

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