STUAS/Tier II Competition Heats Up
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By Bettina H. Chavanne
AAI Corporation officially announced it will offer its Aerosonde fleet of small unmanned aircraft systems, the Mark 4.7, as a contender for the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps joint Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (STUAS)/Tier II program, adding to the growing list of official competitors.
The STUAS/Tier II contract will be awarded by the end of this year, with initial operational capability anticipated for 2012, according to Rear Adm. Bill Shannon, Navy program executive officer for unmanned aviation and strike weapons.
AAI performed flight demonstrations with its Mark 4.7 system at Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz. on June 23 and June 24.
Boeing’s Integrator, a larger follow-on to the ScanEagle UAS, is the incumbent in the competition. Integrator uses a different catapult launcher and SkyHook recovery system than ScanEagle, but it is compatible, Boeing business development manager Rich Colie said.
Raytheon is pushing its blended wing-body KillerBee for STUAS/Tier II and General Dynamics, in partnership with Elbit Systems, will offer the Hermes 90, which was unveiled at the Paris Air Show this year (Aerospace DAILY, June 17).
Photo: US Army
