by Scott Kesselman



General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. announced today that its Predator/Grey Eagle series aircraft family has achieved three million flight hours to date.



The fleet of aircraft reached the milestone on 2 Oct. with 222,000 total missions completed.



Sixty-eight General Atomics aircraft are logging about 50,000 flight hours a month for the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Army, U.S. Department of Homeland Security, NASA, the Italian air force, the Royal air force, the French air force and others, according to a company press release.



Missions include protecting warfighters, assisting border agents, aiding first responders and supporting scientists in Earth science research.



The company has produced 700 aircraft to date and continues to produce six aircraft and two ground control stations monthly.