Can NATO’s CUAS marketplace turn urgent demand into deliveries?
Framework contracts and leasing options aim to shorten acquisition timelines, while manufacturing partnerships could help suppliers scale production to meet allied demand.
Two companies are thought to be in the lead for the US Special Operations Command’s (USSOCOM’s) Family of Tactical Headborne Systems (FTHS) programme.
Revision Military and Gentex subsidiary Ops Core are understood to be frontrunners in the industry sources have revealed this week.
Speaking to Shephard Media at the Special Operations Conference (SOFIC) in Tampa, Florida, on 25 May, sources explained how USSOCOM had selected the pair of companies to conduct a Product Development programme to better understand potential in the market place ahead of any procurement cycle.
The news followed an announcement from USSOCOM updated in December 2015, which
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Framework contracts and leasing options aim to shorten acquisition timelines, while manufacturing partnerships could help suppliers scale production to meet allied demand.
The US is pursuing multiple UGV programmes, from commercial robotic platforms to new autonomy technologies. The combination of these efforts could prove key to turning ambition into operational capability.
NATO is looking to artificial intelligence to provide integration between different C2 systems to create a common operational picture, potentially offering a faster route to interoperability than the slow-moving processes of NATO standards committees.
The large-scale exercise in Latvia was the culmination of three experimentation initiatives to see how platforms, weapons and systems could fit into the alliance’s Eastern Flank Deterrence Initiative. As well as forces, it brought together companies and equipment.
Canada plans to acquire at least 120 uncrewed aerial systems through two competitions with combined funding ceilings of C$32 million.
New counter-drone technologies, autonomous launchers and manufacturing modernisation initiatives highlighted emerging opportunities for defence suppliers, while the UK advanced a major military vehicle procurement programme.