The US Department of Defense is seeking alternatives to the beleaguered Alliant Techsystems Outrider tactical unmanned air vehicle (TUAV), with the fate of the project to be determined within two months.
Senior US defence officials will allow the TUAV advanced-concept technology demonstration (ACTD) to continue for an additional two months, during which the contractor must fly the Outrider with the improved 4m-span wing configuration.
Alliant Techsystems must also provide an accurate weight estimate for the TUAV, and provide final predictions for Outrider launch and recovery distances. The Pentagon will then decide whether to scrap it in favour of other UAVs.
The Joint UAV Programme Office was ordered to issue a request for information by 24 April, seeking industry inputs for Outrider alternatives. Industry responses are due by 23 May.
The US Army, Navy and Marine Corps have been directed to develop alternative acquisition strategies which satisfy their respective needs. They are to be completed by 7 May. The army wants a UAV with a range of 50km (30nm), while the USN/USMC see a 200km-range maritime requirement. The USN is already looking at a vertical-take-off-and-landing UAV alternative to the Outrider.
Under the two-year ACTD contract, Alliant Techsystems is to deliver six Outrider systems. Full production calls for 73 TUAV systems for the US Army, USMC and USN, and the Pentagon has set a not-to-exceed cost of $350,000 per sensor-equipped air vehicle.
The Outrider was six months late in being flown, the vehicle's weight has increased by 24%, and its endurance has been cut by one-third. Its fuselage structure was changed from composite materials to aluminum, and the wing was redesigned to help recover some performance. The vehicle, originally expected to weigh 175kg, now tops 220kg. The company is working to shave 32kg from the production air-vehicle, which is to be powered by a heavy-fuel engine. The Outrider's endurance has dropped to 2h, although the goal is to restore the original 3h.
Source: Flight International
