Four teams conducting studies for the UK Ministry of Defence's (MoD) Watchkeeper tactical unmanned air vehicle programme are negotiating follow-on contracts that will keep the consortia together until a down-selection due towards the middle of next year.
Teams lead by BAE Systems, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman and Thales Defence were given 12-month study contracts in September last year and have now handed in their reports. BAE has renamed its Watchkeeper group Team Vigilant.
Industry sources say the consortia are negotiating for follow-on studies which will each be different, addressing particular issues raised by each team. The new contracts will last until the first quarter of next year.
The MoD is due to select two bidders in the first quarter of next year and give initial approval for Watchkeeper in May. This will lead to further studies and demonstrations to be finished by the end of 2003, when the final approval decision for programme launch is due. This will be followed by the selection of a preferred bidder.
The initial studies were not intended to define precise systems, but sources indicate that the Watchkeeper requirement will be best met by a mix of two or possibly three UAV types. Watchkeeper is the result of the merger of two previous programmes; Sender, a 50km range unit level system; and Spectator, a corps-level, 150km range system.
An element of the programme is to define common systems - including ground control, intelligence exploitation methods and datalinks - and logistics for the two requirements and to reduce the need for highly-trained UAV operators, says an industry source.
Source: Flight International
