Navy to host industry day for maritime search and rescue UAS

The Navy will host an industry day next week to provide further information on an unmanned aircraft system that would perform maritime search and rescue missions.

The industry day will take place on Jan. 26, according to a request for information updated yesterday.

Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division AIRWorks “intends to accelerate the identification and evaluation of unmanned aircraft systems capable of performing wide-area Maritime Search and Rescue missions from a surface vessel,” according to the RFI.

The program is interested in systems that can perform at long ranges for extended periods while relaying information back to the host vessel, according to the RFI.

“More specifically, AIRWorks is interested in locating personnel adrift, downed airliners (finding debris, oil slicks, beacons), ships in distress, or other incidents at sea, through a variety of technologies (Artificial Intelligence, Electro-optic, infrared, Full Motion Video, Maritime Wide-Area Search, Synthetic Aperture Radar, and Electronic Sensing),” the RFI states.

The Navy is seeking an unmanned aircraft that can relay data back to Command and Control in a potentially comms-denied environment, according to the RFI.

This summer, NAWCAD will host an at-sea technology demonstration, which will be “part of a multi-phased merit-based selection process for the potential award of an Other Transaction prototype,” according to the Navy.

The Navy is also seeking industry input on a UAS capable of vertical takeoff and landing that would support a variety of expeditionary operations.