Christine Thropp
The U.S. Army has released a request for information on a small unmanned aircraft system that could be deployed for long range reconnaissance operations during any time of day in all environmental conditions.
The rugged and lightweight drone is envisioned to support reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition missions of the military while requiring only minimal logistics, training and support, according to the SAM.gov notice posted Friday.
The Army requires the ready-to-use system to have electro-optical and/or infrared sensors for providing real-time full motion video, and to be capable of autonomous or manual launch and recovery. In addition, its ground control station needs to be man-portable and to include aircraft and payload controls, sensor monitors and other necessary equipment.
Responses to the RFI, which will be used by the Program Executive Office – Aviation and the SUAS Product Office at Redstone Arsenal, are due Jan. 21.
