ARMY UAS TRYOUTS

摘要

The U.S. Army is employing a "Buy, Try, Inform" approach before nailing down the requirements for a new unmanned aircraft system to replace the aging Textron Systems RQ-7. Traditionally, the military would set a requirement, triggering the acquisition community to search for a platform that fulfills the service's needs. Instead, the Army decided to forge a different path to attain success with the Future Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System (FTUAS). The Army identified five platoons to perform demonstrations with four vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) unmanned aircraft to inform requirements for the FTUAS: the AeroViron-ment JUMP 20, L3Harris Technologies FVR-90, Martin UAV V-Bat and Textron Systems Aerosonde HQ VTOL UAS. Initially, the service planned for six platoons to participate in the demonstrations but had to reduce it to five because of a congressional appropriations mark, according to Maj. Gen. Walter Rugen, Future Vertical Lift Cross-Functional Team director at U.S. Army Futures Command.