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Home» Event News» DSEI 2021»DSEI 2021: FTUAS competition set to start
DSEI 2021 FTUAS competition set to start

DSEI 2021: FTUAS competition set to start

The Royal Navy (RN) is taking the first steps towards introducing uncrewed and autonomous airborne platforms into its front line, with a competition for the supply of a shipborne Flexible Tactical Uncrewed Air System (FTUAS) expected to kick off in the coming weeks.

Richard Scott 15 Sep 2021

Being procured at pace to meet an Urgent Capability Requirement (UCR), the FTUAS solution is intended to provide enhanced situational awareness for ships operating in the Persian Gulf region. Its primarily role will be to detect, identify, track and assess fast inshore attack craft; it will have a secondary role in counter-narcotics/counter-trafficking.

The FTUAS UCR calls for a rotary-wing unmanned air vehicle fitted with a multi-sensor intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) sensor suite. Another stipulation is that the FTUAS solution has the ability to collect, disseminate and process information in a format compatible with an RN combat management system.

Royal Navy ships deployed in the Gulf have previously been equipped with the Boeing Insitu ScanEagle UAS under a contract-owned/contractor-operated arrangement. But while ScanEagle was limited to an electro-optical sensor payload, FTUAS is required to incorporate a maritime radar for wide area surveillance.

Industry was invited to pre-qualify for the FTUAS requirement in May this year. An Invitation To Negotiate is expected to be issued to up to four shortlisted bidders in the near future, with a contract award anticipated in the first half of 2022.

FTUAS is planned to achieve an initial operating capability in mid-2023. The system will embark on, and operate off, a forward-deployed Type 23 frigate to provide a persistent and integrated ISR capability.

The intention is that FTUAS will be a pilot for the introduction of maritime UAS systems into the Fleet Air Arm.  Under the umbrella of the Future Maritime Aviation Force (FMAF), the Royal Navy is planning to transition a number of aviation roles to uncrewed and autonomous platforms over the next decade.

Camcopter S-100 on Schiebel stand at DSEI 2021

One strand of FMAF is a medium-size rotary-winged UAS known as Proteus which would be used for ISR and maritime intra-theatre lift.  A complementary fixed-wing element, known as Vixen, has conceptualised both a carrier-capable platform for persistent wide area surveillance/airborne early warning missions, and a ‘Loyal Wingman’ as an ‘attritable’ strike adjunct.

DSEI 2021 Royal Navy UAV Unmanned Vehicles 2021-09-15
Tags DSEI 2021 Royal Navy UAV Unmanned Vehicles
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Authors

Posted by : Richard Scott
Euronaval guest commentator Richard Scott is a well-known UK-based writer on the Royal Navy and other naval forces worldwide.

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