Army's Future Attack Recon Aircraft could be remotely operated

The Army wants an air vehicle than can be flown by two pilots, just one or piloted from the ground for it's Future Attack Recon Aircraft the service told industry reps in late June.

In a set of responses to an industry day question-and-answer session, released July 25, the service laid out some of the specs for the FARA program.

According to the draft proposal, the FARA aircraft, part of the Army's Future Vertical Lift program, is supposed to be a light-attack and recon craft that can avoid radar detection and operate in large cities, something the service said it lacks entirely.

The goal is for it to be low-maintenance and have user-friendly controls.

"Teamed with unmanned systems and various air-launched effects, this platform will be the center piece of the integrated air defense system (IADS) breeching team to provide freedom of maneuver in a multi-domain battle," the draft states.

The current time line says the Army will start with an initial design phase involving four to six participants between fiscal year 2019 and FY-20. This would be followed by a prototyping phase with only two participants from that initial group, which it hopes would not run longer than FY-23. The Army said it would fund one prototype per agreement.

To procure the prototype, the Army wants to use an other transaction authority contract.

No amount for funding the program was mentioned.

The Army is not looking for the aircraft to carry passengers but U.S. Special Operations Command and the Coast Guard have shown interest in a variant that can.