Ramon Lopez/WASHINGTON DC
The planned acquisition of a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) unmanned air vehicle (UAV) by the US Navy and Marine Corps has drawn interest from a dozen competitors, including Bell Helicopter Textron, Science Applications International (SAIC), and a team led by Schweizer Aircraft.
A joint bid was submitted by Bombardier and Raytheon Systems, and a UK company may compete with a revolutionary drone powered by rocket engines. Another possible contender is Germany's DaimlerChrysler Aerospace (Dasa) which is developing the Seamos UAV for an upcoming NATO maritime demonstration.
Procurement of a VTOL Tactical UAV (VTUAV) results from technical problems with the Alliant Techsystems Outrider. It had been selected for the US Army, Navy and Marine Corps, but the maritime services have been permitted to switch to the purchase of a rotary-wing vehicle.
In July, the Pentagon exercised contract options under which Bell Helicopter's Eagle Eye and the Bombardier CL-327 Guardian drone will be integrated with an automated recovery system for land-based and shipboard trials during 1999. SAIC's Vigilante was eliminated from the second phase of the VTOL demonstration.
As envisioned, the sea trials will involve USN warships, but the UK, which is negotiating to get aboard the project, has offered to host the tests on a research vessel undergoing sea trials off the east coast of the USA.
Meanwhile, the Navy UAV Programme Office has initiated a fast-track VTUAV procurement, with industry responses to a request for information (RFI) market survey delivered on 2 November. There were nine submissions and more bids are being encouraged.
The competition is considering various acquisition schemes to include an off-the-shelf buy, new designs and a fly-off. Engineering and manufacturing development would start in 2000, with the first vehicles fielded three years later.
Schweizer Aircraft is believed to have bid an unmanned derivative of the Schweizer 300 single-piston light helicopter developed with Japan's Kawada Industries.
The UK's Intora-Firebird may bid a vehicle whose main rotor is propelled by rocket engines fitted on the end of each rotor blade. The rockets are fed with hydrogen-peroxide fuel. A gas mixture is ejected through a specially-designed nozzle, creating thrust to power the blades.
Source: Flight International
