PATUXENT RIVER NAS Md., 23 April 2014. Four U.S. designers of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are set to square-off in a do-or-die competition to build the first deployable carrier-based combat UAV. U.S. Navy officials have signaled the imminent release of a solicitation to design the Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) aircraft.
Officials of the Naval Air Systems Command at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Md., have released a presolicitation (N00019-14-R-0029) that announces plans to release an initial draft solicitation, and subsequently a final solicitation for the UCLASS aircraft.
The upcoming competition will be limited to four of the nation's leading UAV designers -- the Boeing Co. Defense, Space & Security segment in St. Louis; the Lockheed Martin Corp. Skunk Works in Palmdale, Calif.; General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. in Poway, Calif.; and the Northrop Grumman Corp. Aerospace Systems segment in Redondo Beach, Calif.
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All four companies have built prototypes of unmanned combat aircraft. Boeing has the X-45N; Lockheed Martin has a variant of its RQ-170 Sentinel; General Atomics has the Avenger; and Northrop Grumman has its carrier-proven X-47B. The formal UCLASS solicitation will be issued only to these companies.
The Navy's UCLASS aircraft will provide a persistent, aircraft carrier-based intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, targeting, and strike capability to support carrier air wing operations, Navy officials say.
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