An MQ-9 Reaper sits on the flight line as the sun sets at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, on 20 November 2019. (US Air Force)
Programme officials at the US Air Force (USAF) are soliciting information from industry to support the development of new command-and-control (C2), data relay, and electronic warfare (EW) payloads, specifically for small unmanned aircraft systems (sUASs).
Managed by the Offensive Small Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (sUAS) System Program Office (SPO), as part of the air service's Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance & Special Operations Forces directorate, the sUAS payloads being sought will be able to provide C2 and data relay capabilities “to an sUAS swarm in a contested environment”, according to a November request for information (RFI).
The EW payload will enable the USAF's small unmanned aircraft to carry out those missions “in a contested environment”, the RFI stated.
The focus of the programme will be to develop those specific integrated payloads for signature-managed Group 3 sUASs, service officials said. Group 3 sUASs are defined as tactical-level UASs with an operational weight of 1,320 lb, a maximum speed of 250 kt, and an altitude ceiling of 180 ft, according to a US Department of Defense (DoD) fact sheet.
Examples of Group 3 sUASs include the RQ-7 Shadow and the Small Tactical Unmanned Aerial System (STUAS).
USAF programme officials have not publicly disclosed which Group 3 sUAS the payloads will be developed for in the RFI. However, they did note that industry proposals would be weighed against “platforms with currently integrated payload solutions”. The C2 and data relay payloads, according to the RFI, would be used to enable drone swarms of Group 2 sUASs.
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