The Navy submitted its long anticipated draft request for proposals for the Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program on Thursday to four competing companies already conducting early designs for the aircraft, but the service did not publicly release the document.

The Navy's X-47B unmanned aircraft demonstrator designed for carrier operations and the precursor to UCLASS. Photo: U.S. Navy
The Navy’s X-47B unmanned aircraft demonstrator designed for carrier operations and the precursor to UCLASS. Photo: U.S. Navy

“The purpose of the draft RFP is to solicit industry to design, develop, assemble, deliver, test and integrate the air segment into the UCLASS system,” said Jamie Cosgrove, a spokeswoman for Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR).

Cosgrove said the draft RFP has been designated as “For Official Use Only,” meaning it will not be shared with the public. The designation, commonly referred to as FOUO, means the information is unclassified but shielded from the public because its unveiling could cause “foreseeable harm,” according to a Pentagon description of the term in 2012.

UCLASS is meant to provide the Navy with an unmanned aircraft that can operate off an aircraft carrier autonomously and conduct intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and strike missions. The first aircraft are planned to begin operations in 2020. The four companies under preliminary design contracts are Boeing [BA], General Atomics, Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Northrop Grumman [NOC].

The draft RFP will also include a provisional requirement for aerial refueling, Rear Adm. Mathias Winter, the program executive officer for unmanned aviation and strike weapons at NAVAIR, told reporters last week.

Winter said at the Navy League Sea-Air-Space exposition that the draft RFP would be classified, but that turned out to not be the case.

The much-anticipated and long-delayed draft RFP was expected last summer. It had been postponed as the Navy continued to work through technical design requirements to ensure they are clear to industry as well as “realistic, logical and affordable,” Winter said. He disputed reports that the Navy has been debating the overall requirements for the aircraft, saying those requirements have been “solid and steady” for a year.

The draft RFP will be followed by an industry day in about a month with a final RFP expected for completion and submission this summer, Winter said. The industry teams will be asked to file their proposals by the end of the year, with the winner set to be announced in mid-2015, Winter said at Sea-Air-Space.

The Navy has been examining the concept behind UCLASS with the Unmanned Combat Air System-Demonstrator (UCAS-D) program, also known as the X-47B. The Northrop Grumman-built X-47B made history last year when it became the first unmanned aircraft to catapult launch off an aircraft carrier and land with arresting gear. The Navy is conducting additional tests this year.