Saturday, October 8, 2016

GA-ASI funded to join Boeing and LM in next phase of MQ-25 Stinger Carrier Based UAV design

Concept for MQ-25 Stingray
Navy Awards Another Contract For MQ-25 Carrier-Based Drone | Defense Daily Network
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI) has become the third company to receive a concept refinement contract for the U.S. Navy's new MQ-25 program, which aims to develop a carrier-based unmanned aircraft.GA-ASI, whose one-year, $43.7 million contract.

Navy Taps Boeing, Lockheed for MQ-25 Carrier UAV Risk Reduction Contracts
The U.S. Navy has awarded a $43.4 million contract to Boeing (NYSE: BA) and a $43.6 million contract to Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) to provide risk reduction measures for the military branch’s first carrier unmanned aerial vehicle program.
Boeing and Lockheed will also refine concepts and develop trade space models to support requirements generation ahead of the MQ-25 program’s engineering and manufacturing development phase, the Defense Department said Friday.


General Atomics joins Boeing and LM in de-risking MQ-25 unmanned tanker | IHS Jane's 360
The contract, announced by the Department of Defense (DoD) on 4 October, follows previous awards to Boeing and Lockheed Martin to refine the MQ-25 concept ahead of the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase of the programme. A fourth contract for Northrop Grumman is expected to be awarded shortly.

Alongside Boeing and Lockheed Martin, GA-ASI now has through to the end of October 2017 to conduct its de-risking activities before release of a draft request for proposals and the commencement of EMD.

Lockheed Martin and Boeing score contracts for unmanned Navy tanker
Lockheed Martin and Boeing each received $43 million risk reduction contracts on 23 September from the US Navy. Two more bidders, Northrop Grumman and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, are waiting for their awards.

The new round of contracts pays the contractors to convert their preliminary designs, which were tuned to support the navy's original requirement for a stealthy, carrier-launched surveillance and strike aircraft (UCLASS).

A four-way competition to build the US Navy's next carrier-based unmanned air system (UAS) expect to begin revising year-old, preliminary designs that were submitted before the mission changed.

Lockheed Martin and Boeing each received $43 million risk reduction contracts on 23 September from the US Navy. Two more bidders, Northrop Grumman and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, are waiting for their awards.

The new round of contracts pays the contractors to convert their preliminary designs, which were tuned to support the navy's original requirement for a stealthy, carrier-launched surveillance and strike aircraft (UCLASS).

The navy has since converted the MQ-25 programme into the carrier-based airborne refueling system (CBARS). Rather than penetrating into defended airspace to detect and attack targets, the MQ-25s will mostly serve as an escort or "buddy" tanker for manned strike aircraft. The MQ-25 also would be equipped with a 19-23in-diameter forward looking infrared sensor turret for a surveillance mission in permissive airspace.

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