Ramon Lopez/YUMA
The US Navy will decide in June or early July whether to persevere with the Alliant Techsystems Outrider unmanned air vehicle (UAV) or switch to a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) craft for its tactical UAV requirement.
The USN's plans to buy the fixed wing Outrider UAV, along with the US Army, have been in doubt since last May, when technical problems hit Outrider flight testing. The USN's interest in VTOL vehicles to replace the AAI Pioneer UAV has been rekindled by new Congressional funds.
A demonstration involving the Bell Helicopter Eagle Eye, Bombardier CL-327 Guardian and SAIC Vigilante, intended to conclude on 11 June, is designed to evaluate the current maturity of VTOL UAV technologies. The trials are concentrating on performance and aim to evaluate risks associated with a possible VTOL UAV development programme to satisfy USN fleet requirements.
Capt Lyn Whitmer, programme manager for Navy UAVs, says senior USN officials will consider test data gleaned from the VTOL UAV demonstration and the ongoing Outrider military user assessment in determining whether or not the US Navy should withdraw from the Outrider UAV project.
Project officials say the flight tests indicate that a maritime VTOL UAV is ready for deployment, and they are prepared to initiate a procurement programme.
He says USN fleet commanders continue to unanimously back fielding of a VTOL UAV because they "-no longer want to see UAVs hurling into nets".
Chief of Naval Operations Adm Jay Johnson says: "Whether Outrider is successful or not, we believe it is important to determine if there are valid fleet requirements for a VTOL UAV which may well provide important capabilities that fixed wing UAVs can't provide."
Source: Flight International
