KABUL – The US Navy is planning to hire drone-maker General Atomics to flyits own unarmed MQ-9 Reapers in support of US Marines in Afghanistan,American media reported Wednesday.

The Drive reported that the contractor-operated drones would provide a”surge” of intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance capabilities asthe US military expands its activities in the Central Asian country, whichthe US Air Force is not able to provide at present.

The proposed deal was announced by the Naval Air System Command (NAVAIR) onJanuary 09.

The contract, which the Navy did not give an estimated value for, wouldcover up to a year of operations in Afghanistan running between the 2018Fiscal Year, when began on Oct. 1, 2017, and the 2019 fiscal cycle.

The announcement does not elaborate anything about the number of Reapers inthe mission.

US Air Force and UK Royal Air Force MQ-9 Reapers share a hangar inAfghanistan.

As it stands now, NAVAIR is looking to hire General Atomics to provide asingle “orbit” supplying coverage over one particular area 16 hours a day,seven days a week, the report said. The company could have to conductmissions lasting 24-hours or more in certain cases, but with advance notice.

A typical MQ-9 Reaper combat air patrol involves four individual aircraft,so that one aircraft is always on station, while another is heading back tobase to refuel, and a third is heading out to take over the mission. Thefourth drone is in reserve in case a malfunction, accident, or other issuesidelines one of the aircraft.

The report quotes the US Navy as saying that the Reapers themselves mustcarry a high-resolution imaging radar system, as well as a multi-spectralcamera system.

The Air Force’s latest MQ-9s already carry the Raytheon multi-spectraltargeting system and General Atomics’ own Lynx multi-mode radar and it’slikely this is the capability NAVAIR is looking for on thecontractor-operated drones.

There is no stated requirement for a wide-area persistent surveillancesystem with multiple cameras, which could be particularly useful formonitoring insurgent movements.