Navy to Launch Competition for Carrier-Based Unmanned Aircraft in 2013

After a two-year delay, the Navy expects to issue a request for proposals in 2013 for its Unmanned Carrier-Launched Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS). The goal is to have the aircraft in the fleet by 2020, said Patrick Buckley at a Nov. 9 conference on unmanned aerial systems in Springfield, Va.

The road to establishing requirements for UCLASS has been fraught with debate, with officials in a tug-of-war on how advanced UCLASS should be, given fiscal and technological constraints.

"It has never been quite clear exactly what the requirements would be for the system," said Phil Finnegan, director of corporate analysis for the Teal Group, a market research firm. "Obviously it's a struggle between the latest and most capable and affordability."

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