Army reviewing concepts for portable UAS

The Army is reviewing industry concepts this month for a short-range and portable unmanned aircraft system.

The service seeks a "Short-Range Reconnaissance System" that can be carried in a backpack for platoons to conduct intelligence surveillance, and reconnaissance, according to a recent Federal Business Opportunities notice. The Army wants the UAS to be small, lightweight, affordable and quickly taken apart and repaired. It is required to be able to land and take off vertically.

Initially, the service plans to acquire 10 off-the-shelf, unmodified UASs to be upgraded by the contractors following testing.

The service will award an other transaction agreement for prototype development, and may later move into full production, also using an OTA.

The Army plans on making an award sometime between April and June 2019, followed by a user assessment of prototypes in October at the earliest.