Three unmanned aircraft earn chance to bid for $874 million US Navy programme

Photo Credit: Flight Global

AAI, Boeing and a Computer Sciences Corp (CSC)/Saab team were selected by the US Navy today to compete for task orders for services provided by unmanned air systems (UAS) worth up to $874 million.

While the navy did not reveal the selected aircraft, AAI offered the latest version of the Aerosonde, Boeing and subsidiary Insitu offered the RQ-21A Integrator, and the CSC/Saab team proposed Skeldar unmanned helicopter.

The services included in the selection include the full spectrum of training, support, installation and operation.
The navy plans to operate the aircraft from ships, while the marines intend to launch the unmanned air vehicles mainly from land bases. "AAI and Insitu are eligible to compete for both sea-based and land-based task orders. CSC is only eligible to compete for land-based task orders," the navy said.

The three bidders will replace the Boeing/Insitu Scan Eagle as the main UAV provider of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance services to the navy and maines. The ISR Services bidders will then be replaced after Fiscal 2017 as the RQ-21 Integrator enters the fleet in numbers under the small tactical unmanned air systems (STUAS) programme. Neither Navy nor corporate representatives were immediately available for comment.


Flight Global

Coming Soon: Era Of UAS?

Washington DC --- The new FAA re-authorization bill that was signed into law this week by President Obama (PDF) creates a fast track for the integration of civil unmanned aircraft systems into the national airspace.

The legislation states that the FAA and the UAS industry must work together to develop a "comprehensive plan" by mid-November that will safely achieve the full integration of UAS by Sept. 30, 2015. Deadlines for certain smaller systems are set even sooner. For example, first responders will be allowed to fly small UAS weighing 4.4 pounds or less within 90 days. And within six months, the FAA must designate six test ranges where the UAS can fly to develop their sense-and-avoid capabilities.

Within one year, small UAS under 55 pounds will be allowed to fly in the Arctic regions of the U.S., 24 hours a day, at an altitude of at least 2,000 feet. By mid-2014, small UAS that weigh under 55 pounds will be allowed to fly in the national airspace system. "Technology is advancing to the point where we now know these systems can reliably fly," said Michael Toscano, president of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International. "The next step is to work on the regulations that govern the rules of the sky to ensure that unmanned aircraft do no harm to other manned aircraft or to people or property on the ground." The legislation says that all UAS must have a "sense and avoid capability," and standards will be set for the licensing of operators. The FAA also will be required to study the causes of accidents involving UAS.

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