Army awards UAS training aid contract

The Army has awarded Inter-Coastal Electronics Inc. a contract to produce a prototype location device to help train Army personnel.

The firm was awarded a $384,210 other transaction agreement contract July 31 to produce a miniaturized device that will connect unmanned aerial systems to the service's own LTE network.

Inter-Coastal will be responsible for all three phases of the project, culminating in five working prototypes.

The device will be used during live force-on-force training to provide the UAS real-time location. Current location devices are too large to attach to a small UAS.

"The LTE network will allow the integration of commercial items, such as edge and GPS devices," the Army stated in its initial announcement.

The system will help integrate UAS into the Army's Combat Training Center Instrumentation System which collects data from field exercises to provide better feedback and improve soldier performance.