The next-generation UAV is expected to integrate certain advanced technologies including autonomy, artificial intelligence, machine learning, digital engineering, open mission systems architecture and attritable technology, the USAF says. To make that goal, initial deliveries are planned to start in the fourth quarter of FY2030. The USAF plans for the UAV to have an initial operational capability by the third quarter of fiscal year 2031. The service also wants ideas for “alternative ways to support future lower-end, lower-cost ISR missions, which may include initiatives to modernise, augment, and/or replace existing systems”, it says. The air force did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It is not clear if those different aircraft types listed means the USAF is looking to replace the MQ-9 with three separate vehicles. The purpose of this RFI is to research potential solutions for the Next Generation UAS ISR/Strike platform, the Next Generation Medium Altitude UAS and potential follow-on programme to the MQ-9 weapon system.” “With the MQ-9 platform planning for end of service life, a need to identify a solution that continues to provide for this demand is imperative. “The hunter-killer mission set provides a unique capability of combined ISR and strike attributes in a single platform fulfilling the highest demand of all air force assets through vast capacity,” says the notice. The service wants a UAV that embodies what it gets from the MQ-9, but with capabilities to operate in a new era of more advanced threats. As the USA pivots towards Great Power rivalries against China and Russia – countries with sophisticated and long reaching anti-aircraft missile batteries – the MQ-9’s potential is limited, according to the USAF. However, the UAV is vulnerable to surface-to-air missiles. That has made it a favoured air-to-ground strike aircraft against combatants who often blend into the surrounding populace and must be picked off at fleeting moments, so as to avoid hurting or killing nearby civilians. Its flight endurance of 27h allows the UAV to loiter above battlefields for long durations.
The MQ-9 was given initial operating capability in 2007 and has been used extensively against insurgents and terrorists in the Middle East. MQ-9 Reaper flies a training mission over the Nevada Test and Training Range Airline Business special: CEOs to watch in 2021.FlightGlobal Guide to Business Aviation Training and Safety 2021.EDGE: A new global force in aerospace and defence.
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