US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) awarded Textron Systems a potential maximum of USD1.73 billion indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contract to provide its Aerosonde small unmanned aircraft system (SUAS).
The contract makes Textron Systems eligible to compete for the first sea-based task orders for the Aerosonde SUAS on US Navy (USN) vessels. The Boeing Insitu-built Scan Eagle small unmanned aerial vehicle (SUAV) is also eligible to compete.
According to David Phillips, vice-president for Small and Medium Endurance UASs for Textron Systems, the sea-based contract requires a much smaller area in which to operate the SUAS and a heavy fuel engine, one that would “run the same kind of fuel that the navy vessel is running”. According to Phillips, Aerosonde has been trialled on board two USN ships at “relatively high sea-states”.
Aerosonde has a 36 kg (80 lb) gross take-off weight aircraft, is enabled to carry up to an 8-9 kg payload depending on the payload, and can be operated with a crew of 3-4 operators, Phillips said. It is powered with a 4 hp, heavy-fuel, Lycoming EL-005 engine. It currently flies signal intelligence, tactical communications, relay radio, and ground-to-ground support forces radio extender missions, among others roles.
In addition, Textron has an open 18 cubic m (700 cubic in), 2.25 kg maximum ‘customer space’ within the fuselage of the Aerosonde SUAS aircraft with 200 W dedicated power, to enable the USN to “very quickly integrate and/or swap payloads out in the field to keep pace with their emerging missions set”, Phillips told a group of reporters on 5 July 2017.
Source: Jane’s 360