Redstone Arsenal, Ala.: The U.S. Army concluded the Base Period of the Future Tactical Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (FTUAS) Program of Record (formerly Increment 2) effort and awarded agreement option 1 to the following four Project Agreement Holders (PAHs): Griffon Aerospace, Incorporated; Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation; Sierra Nevada Corporation; and Textron Systems Corporation. The Option 1 period begins on May 24, 2023. This is an Other Transactional Authority supported by the Aviation and Missile Technical Consortium.
In the Base Period, the Uncrewed Aircraft Systems Program Management Office (UAS PMO) evaluated PAH submissions in the areas of Performance, Cost, Schedule, Risk, and their Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA), which is a key priority for the Program Executive Office, Aviation.
During the next option periods, UAS PMO will evaluate the PAHs on the Preliminary Design Review, the Critical Design Review, flight demonstrations, and third-party MOSA verification activities.
Following the Preliminary and Critical Design Reviews, the remaining PAHs will deliver prototype systems and support equipment for qualification testing. These systems will undergo numerous evaluation activities such as environmental testing, electromagnetic environmental effects testing, MOSA verification, and flight testing conducted at PAH and government test facilities.
As a Future Vertical Lift program, the FTUAS is the Army’s premier Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) Uncrewed Aircraft modernization effort. FTUAS Program of Record requirements includes runway independence, point take-off and landing, and a rapidly deployable UAS capability. When fielded, FTUAS will provide a distinct tactical advantage over current systems due to increased manoeuvrability through VTOL, improved command and control supported by the on-the-move capability, a reduced transportation and logistics footprint, as well as significantly improved survivability due to reduced noise signature.
FTUAS will improve the Brigade Combat Team’s ability to conduct reconnaissance and surveillance operations that collect, develop, and report actionable intelligence information about the enemy in Multi-Domain Operations.
