Industry Cooperation Essential to Army Modernization, Officials Say

Bill Lewis, director of aviation development at AMRDEC. AUVSI photo.

By Brett Davis



Industry cooperation will be crucial to future Army programs by providing new technology and helping control costs, service officials said at the second day of the AUVSI Pathfinder Chapter’s annual conference in Huntsville, Ala.



Maintaining a lead in unmanned systems is key not only for the country “but also the capability of the DOD, because as the commercial industry picks it up, the DOD is going to take advantage of that and we’re not going to be the driver anymore, and that’s OK,” said Rich Kretzschmar, the deputy program manager for unmanned aircraft systems.



One example of this is with the venerable Shadow unmanned aircraft program, which will be undergoing a variety of upgrades to keep it flying for the next two decades, many of which will be competed to industry.



Jason Lucas, the lead engineer for the Shadow program, cited the planned new engine as one thing among several that will be competed to industry.



“We have had some struggles with the engine,” he said. “It’s not that the engine is a bad product; it’s just we have pushed that engine continually from the day we first acquired it. The vehicle weight has increased from 300 pounds to 467, and we continued to stress the engine. This is an exciting effort to improve our reliability, and we are doing it in a competitive manner.”



Five companies have been selected to compete for the work, to create an engine to “dramatically” improve reliability and double the time between overhauls. Tests have already begun, and the Army plans to pick no more than two vendors in May or June to provide new engines. 



Beyond that, there will be an opportunity to compete for a sustainment contract for the Shadow engine, which will be awarded by the end of 2014.



The Army is also seeking industry inputs for an avionics upgrade for the Shadow as well as for an updated day-night camera payload to replace the aging payload it carries now. Shadow prime contractor AAI Corp. will hold a competition for that work, and the new payload should be identified by the end of 2014.



The Shadow team is also seeking advanced technologies for Shadow, such as a lightweight deicing system and an onboard sense-and-avoid system. “We have to find ways to meet those objectives with reduced funding,” Lucas said. “It’s key that we have the support and teaming with industry partners.”



Looking Way Ahead



Bill Lewis, the director of aviation development at the Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center (AMRDEC), said the Army and industry need to look well into the future and start planning now to be able to fight in 2050.



“In 2050, if we don’t have autonomous systems either fighting a large part of the battle or teaming on a large part of the battle, we have failed,” he said. “I need visionaries that are looking ahead to the battle of 2050. I’m not just talking about aviation.”



Technologies that will be needed for that include sense and avoid, near-real-time situational awareness and machines that can not only find an enemy but also “determine the intent of the enemy.”



By 2050, “I see the first days of the battle being a lot of unmanned systems, … and then it will result in a teaming fight,” he said. “Stop thinking about whether it’s going to happen. Start thinking about how we are going to implement it.



“These systems are not cheap,” he added. “The cost is going to be significant.”



Order of Prometheus Awards



At the end of the first day of the conference, the Pathfinder Chapter awarded its first Order of Prometheus awards to unmanned systems pioneers. 



The award can be given for a single outstanding achievement or as a result of an outstanding career, said outgoing chapter president Terry Griffin, and “recognizes the significant and enduring contributions toward advancing the goals of AUVSI.”



The awards went to:

• Dave Keating, a longtime Pathfinder board member and the first chartered project manager for the tactical unmanned aircraft system
• Ron Smith, whose long career includes setting up a framework for the Army’s growing number of unmanned programs of record and developing sustainment strategies for rapid fielding initiatives
• Don Jones, the longtime chapter treasurer who revamped the chapter’s finances and also is the point person for the chapter’s extensive outreach to local schools
• Peter Bale, chairman of the Board of Directors for AUVSI, whose unmanned systems career includes pioneering the use of unmanned aircraft to study hurricanes.