Swedish aerospace firm Saab is taking on U.S. defense industry heavyweight Boeing and other American firms to land the rights to a lucrative Navy unmanned aircraft deal.
Partnered with prime contractor Computer Science Corporation, Saab is pitching its Skeldar vertical-lift unmanned aircraft for the Navy’s Close-Range Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance programme.
The Navy deal, estimated to be worth upwards of $800 million, will be to provide a small UAS to Navy and Marine Corps units until the service’s new Small Tactical Unmanned Aerial System is ready for prime time.
The winner will support airborne ISR for seven Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, for eight-month rotations at sea, according to the Navy.
Boeing’s Scan Eagle is widely considered as being the front-runner to win the deal, since it is currently the Navy’s primary close-range ISR system. The Navy has also selected the company’s Integrator UAS for the STUAS contract last July. But with the Integrator still several years from production, combined with the recent criticism STUAS has taken on the Hill, the Navy is now hard-pressed to get something viable into the field, according to an industry source.
Source: AOL Defense