The U.S. Army has asked industry to submit white papers for a program that seeks to provide brigade combat teams with an unmanned aircraft system capability to perform surveillance and reconnaissance missions.
The service plans to deploy a high Technology Readiness Level, vertical takeoff and landing UAS by the second quarter of fiscal year 2023 under the Future Tactical UAS program’s Increment 1, according to a sources sought notice published Thursday.
The Army will evaluate the white papers based on schedule, technical performance and cost and determine whether to issue a request for prototype proposals based on the submissions.
The service wants a fully integrated FTUAS platform, including air vehicles, ground controllers, on-the-move controllers, technical manuals, support equipment, tools and spares to support ground and flight tests.
The potential offeror should provide field service representatives, operators, contractor logistics support and engineering services in support of ground and flight testing.
“Ideally, the FTUAS air vehicle, mission system, and payloads will be Modular Open System Approach (MOSA) compliant to provide ease of upgrade and interchangeability to meet Commanders’ mission requirements,” the notice reads.
White papers are due Sept. 17.
In August, the Army secured approval to transition the FTUAS program to a competitive prototyping phase as part of efforts to replace its Shadow UAS.
