Navy seeks new drones to fly alongside manned aircraft

The U.S. Navy is gauging industry interest in supplying new carrier-based autonomous drones known as Combat Collaborative Aircraft (CCA).

The unmanned platforms would fly in collaboration with existing and future Navy attack aircraft such as the F-35C Lightning II and the future F/A-XX, which is intended to replace the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet and EA-18G Growler.

The Request For Information (RFI) issued Aug. 31 on the government contracting website SAM.gov calls for an aircraft that would cost a maximum of $30 million and have the ability to carry “four weapons up to 2,500 pounds each externally.”

The Navy seeks ideas for “an affordable, highly capable, risk tolerant, carrier-capable, weaponized, extended range, autonomous unmanned air vehicle that can seamlessly deploy from and recover to Gerald R. Ford-class and Nimitz-class Nuclear Aircraft Carriers,” the RFI states.

The RFI does not specify a range or combat radius for the drone but says it should be able to fly 30 minutes “on station” and retain enough fuel to return to the carrier.

The Navy seeks “extended range and payload capacity,” while the drone would be small enough to minimize the amount of space it occupies on carrier decks. The drone should be able to operate in Sea State 5 conditions — which are classified as “rough,” with wave heights of 8 to 12 feet.

Technical requirements include the ability to operate “safe, repeatable, and reliable catapult takeoffs and arrested landings on Gerald R. Ford-class and Nimitz-class” carriers. The new drone must be able to integrate with existing shipboard combat systems and achieve carrier compatibility certification.

The Navy Collaborative Combat Aircraft program is working to provide carrier air wings with “lethal, survivable and persistent, versatile platforms capable of operating directly from the sea.”

The Navy said that as threats grow increasingly complete, it must adapt combat strategies by focusing on collaborative manned-unmanned operations, modular open standards, and rapid, cost-effective prototyping, the RFI said.

“It paves the way to provide a future capability to augment 4th and 5th generation aircraft survivability, lethality, and capacity and developing future warfighting capabilities through collaborative Manned-Unmanned Teaming to ensure the Navy maintains a decisive edge against adversaries,” the RFI states.

The deadline to respond to the RFI is Sept. 18.