UCAR and ERMP among programmes poised to change
The US Army's review of its higher-capability unmanned air vehicles is poised to have a major impact on the future direction of its UAV mix.
Programmes directly affected are the Future Combat Systems (FCS) Class 4A and 4B UAV requirements, the unmanned combat armed rotorcraft (UCAR) and the extended-range multi-purpose (ERMP) UAV. The inclusion of UCAR in the review comes despite the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) programme office continuing to work with shortlisted contenders Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman towards a final downselect within weeks. Both submitted proposals on 9 August.
Northrop Grumman gave a two-day briefing on its bid to the DARPA programme office in Washington last week. Lockheed Martin will give its briefing on 19-20 August. The company says it completed its preliminary design review in late July. DARPA says there are no plans to make substantial changes to the UCAR programme.
DARPA tells Flight International: "We have finished a very successful second phase, have received Phase 3 proposals from the two contractor teams, and are on track to select a single contractor team for Phase 3 in the October timeframe."
Although the US Army has shown considerable interest in UCAR and has actively supported the DARPA technology demonstration, it does not yet have a formal requirement for an unmanned combat helicopter. The option of merging the UCAR with the FCS Class 4B UAV would offer a means of fast-tracking UCAR into its force mix, a fact acknowledged by the FCS programme office.
Lt Col Todd Smith, FCS programme manager for UAV systems, told the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International's Unmanned Systems North America conference in Anaheim that the revalidated operational requirements document for FCS allowed the Class 4 category to be met by "one or two vehicles". UCAR could be integrated into FCS, Smith says, to "fulfil perhaps that 4B, follow-on to 4A, mission". But Smith also cautions that "the status of the [UCAR] system is yet to be determined" by army leadership.
Commenting on the UCAR review, Col John Burke, US Army project manager for UAV systems, says: "We are looking forward to advancing the autonomous flight and collaborative science in UCAR."
PETER LA FRANCHI / WASHINGTON DC & ANAHEIM
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STEPHEN TRIMBLE
Source: Flight International
