NATIONAL HARBOR, Md.–The Navy’s draft request for proposals (RFP) for the service’s planned Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike aircraft, or UCLASS, will be submitted to the four companies competing for the program by the end of this month, the admiral overseeing the program said Tuesday.
Rear Adm. Mathias Winter, the program executive officer for unmanned aviation and strike weapons, said, however, the draft RFP is classified and will not be publicly released. Mathias said the document will undergo a final review by senior Navy leadership followed by a legal review in the near future, and sent to the industry teams by the end of April.
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.
Winter refused to identify the senior Navy leader who has yet to sign off on the draft RFP, but said he was certain it will be approved. “One hundred percent confident there will be no pushback,” Winter told reporters at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space convention just outside Washington.
Boeing [BA], General Atomics, Lockheed Martin [LMT] and Northrop Grumman [NOC] are the four companies competing for UCLASS, and are under design and early development contracts with Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR).
The draft RFP will be followed by an industry day 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, he said.
Classifying the draft RFP was necessary to be sure industry gets the best information, he said.
“The technical design of the UCLASS system, not unlike the majority of our other systems, has classified elements,” he said. “If we didn’t provide a classified draft RFP, we wouldn’t be providing the appropriate information for industry to do an assessment.”
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. Winter said the draft RFP will include a provisional requirement for aerial refueling.
The first aircraft are planned to begin operations in 2020. The Navy is asking for $403 million for UCLASS research and development in its fiscal 2015 budget request outlined in March.
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 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 planning additional tests later this summer.