UCLASS stumbles again - Navy wants baby steps - Congress great leap forward

Navy plan for carrier-based drones takes flak from lawmakers - Los Angeles Times

The Navy's plans to deploy the drones within the next decade came to an abrupt halt this month when key members of Congress said the program is shortsighted. Lawmakers halted all funding until the secretary of Defense can complete a top-to-bottom review.


Four of the nation's largest military weapons makers are waiting to see how the skirmish plays out: Northrop Grumman Corp., Boeing Co., Lockheed Martin Corp. and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. Much of these companies' drone operations are based in Southern California, and they would welcome the work at a time when defense spending on weapons is expected to shrink.


Upon seeing the Navy's conservative request for spy planes, leaders on the House Armed Services Committee questioned whether the Navy is being too restrictive.


"I feel very strongly that we can't make a mistake on this program," said Rep. J. Randy Forbes (R-Va.), chairman of a subcommittee that oversees Navy programs. "It's going to be critical
for decades to come."

He believes Navy brass is hesitant to turn over strategic bombing missions in contested areas of the world — now carried out by seasoned fighter pilots — to drones.

Confusion Surrounds Navy’s Carrier-Based Drone (UPDATED)
Lawmakers are also putting pressure on the Navy to increase UCLASS’s capabilities beyond that of other UAS. Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee’s seapower and projection forces subcommittee, wrote a Feb. 18 letter imploring Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to pay particular attention to its aerial refueling, survivability, lethality and payload requirements.

Forbes contended that because UCLASS will be the Navy’s only armed drone, it should be able to survive in contested environments and carry heavy payloads. He also advocated for greater stealth, adding that “years of government and industry analysis has shown that radar cross section reduction throughout the threat frequency spectrum is required for survivability.”

House Committee Seeks to Stall UCLASS Program Pending New Pentagon Unmanned Aviation Study | USNI News
The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) seeks to put on hold the U.S. Navy’s Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) aircraft program and directs the Pentagon to fund a study for a future carrier-borne unmanned strike aircraft, according to language in the HASC’s Seapower and Projections Forces Committee’s mark of the Fiscal Year 2015 National Defense Authorization Bill.

Forbes Expresses Support for SecNav's UCLASS Vision - Congressman J. Randy Forbes

Washington, D.C., Feb 19 | Alex Gray (202-225-6365) | 0 comments

Congressman J. Randy Forbes (VA-04), Chairman of the House Armed Services Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, released a letter to Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus supporting the Secretary’s vision of the Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance-Strike (UCLASS) program.

“Like Secretary Mabus, I strongly believe that the UCLASS program represents the future of our Navy’s carrier air wing and American power projection capabilities. To achieve that goal, UCLASS must include a requirement for aerial refueling, survivability, lethality, and payload to have enduring utility in tomorrow's threat environment. In short, this platform must have the ability to operate and survive in contested environments," Congressman Forbes said. “Getting this program right today is essential to cementing our Navy’s advantages in the decades to come.”