Unmanned Carrier-Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike

The United States Navy Unmanned Carrier-Launched Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program is to develop an aircraft carrier-based unmanned aerial vehicle to provide an unmanned intelligence and strike asset to the fleet.

Competitors

The UCLASS program currently has several competing designs and design bases:

• Northrop Grumman is offering a design based off their X-47B demonstrator
• Lockheed Martin is offering the Lockheed Sea Ghost
• Boeing is offering a design that may be based off the Phantom Ray
• General Atomics is offering the Sea Avenger, a naval version of their original land-based Avenger.

Requirements

In June 2013, the USN released RFPs to the four competitors. The preliminary characteristics for UCLASS are as follows:

• Range — The UCLASS system should be able to conduct two (2) orbits at 600 nautical miles (1,100 km; 690 mi) or one (1) orbit at 1,200 nautical miles (2,200 km; 1,400 mi), as well as have the capability to conduct a strike mission at 2,000 nautical miles (3,700 km; 2,300 mi).
• Shipboard compatibiliy — The UCLASS system should be able to be totally compatible with carrier and air wing operations, including capable of launching and landing up to Sea State 7, with waves between 1.25 to 9 meters (4 to 29 feet) in height.
• Mission payload — 3,000-pound (1361 kg) capacity with modular, easy-to-swap-out functionality:
  • Minimum requirement to provide integrated electro-optic/infrared surveillance and signals intelligence capability of MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9B Reaper.
  • Maximum requirement to provide moving target indicator, synthetic aperture radar, and maritime specific radar.
• Ordnance capability — 1,000-pound (454-kg) ordnance payload capability that includes Joint Direct Attack Munitions, Small Diameter Bomb IIs, and to-be-determined electronic counter-measures suite.
• Network Capacity — Fully compatible with all existing communcations systems across all platforms, including the upcoming Joint Aerial layer Network-Maritime system.
• Low Observability and Survivability — Charactersistics sufficient to perform strike missions in lightly-contested battlespace and capable of providing sensor and targeting data to U.S. aircraft and ships in high-end conflicts.

Controversy

Navy officials have expressed concern that the original requirements of the UCLASS program have been so degraded that it could be cancelled as part of budget cuts. The original concept called for a stealthy, carrier-based, long-range unmanned combat aerial system (UCAS) with a large payload that could be refueled in-flight. The current version calls for an UCAS that is modestly stealthy and emphasises intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions over lightly contested airspace, with a light secondary strike mission. It promotes affordability, which calls for a design that is less survivable and has less endurance. Some think it is better to create an aircraft that although more expensive, adds greater capabilities to the fleet, rather than a cheaper platform that adds little. The lessened stealth capabilities and lower numbers proposed have made the program decline in worth. The office of the Chief of Naval Operations says the UCLASS will support missions in permissive and low-end contested environments, while providing enabling capabilities for high-end denied operations. Current requirements were written to fill a gap in persistent, sea-based ISR. The original concept was to evolve the X-47B demonstrator into an operational aircraft with aerial refueling. The Joint Requirements Oversight Council dropped the air refueling requirement, reducing its flexibility. NAVAIR says although aerial refueling is not an initial requirement, it may be re-added in the future pending early operational capability performance and fleet feedback. The UCLASS was to have low-observable features, running from "marginal stealth" to F-35 Lightning II levels. Stealth requirements have been sharply reduced to lower costs, reducing its ability to penetrate anti-access/area-denial environments. Original payload requirements called for weapons bays to carry as many as 24 GBU-39 SDB 250 lb bombs, totaling a 6,000 lb weapons payload. Current requirements call for a total payload of 1,360 kg (3,000 lb), with only 454 kg (1,001 lb) of weapons.

Senior officials have denied that changes to the UCLASS requirements were made by the JROC on behalf of the White House. The JROC also does not consider the requirements to be "relaxed." The Pentagon says that the requirements were modified by the JROC during an 18 December 2012 meeting. The UCLASS requirements were changed to consider "within the broader unmanned aircraft portfolio and included an assessment of the platform's performance, capability, survivability, and basing." They claim its capabilities were not reduced, but were shifted to increase some performance areas and decrease others to get a mix. Trade-offs were made to consider the needs of fighting forces across a range of national security interests. JROC is reported to have changed the requirements in order to produce a replacement for the current drones used for Disposition Matrix missions that would not require host nation basing or permission. While the Navy's initial aim of creating a UAV capable of striking defended targets, the focus was changed to keep costs down and maintain unmanned counterterrorism missions as a U.S. military option. Flying missions from sea-based carriers would have fewer restrictions than operating inside foreign countries, and irregular warfare missions would continue in the future to warrant further attention. The Navy disagrees with this focus, as there are many assets that can operate in non-contested airspace with few stealthy-type penetrators, and expensive carrier forces and air wings would be used to find individual high value targets.

Development

The Navy expected to release a draft RFP for the technology development phase in August 2013, with a final version expected in 2014. The first RFP, released in June, is to mature the four designs up to a preliminary design review (PDR) over nine months and assess technical readiness. The following technology demonstration phase will be much more rigorous. NAVAIR hoped to have an industry day for UCLASS competitors in September 2013. The Navy was to downselect one company and design in 2014 and begin development in 2015.

The draft RFP for technology development has been delayed from August to September 2013. There is continuing debate over requirements and stealth. Carrier operation has lead program officials to determine that either a stealthy, tailless design or a winged body with a tail could satisfy the Navy’s needs. General Atomics and Boeing are expected to de-emphasize stealth in favor of endurance and payload. Northrop Grumman and Lockheed are pitching tailless high-survivability designs. Although stealth is more expensive, Lockheed says the UCLASS "needs to be a fifth-generation capability," and that their experience with the F-22 Raptor, F-35 Lightning II, and RQ-170 Sentinel provided lessons on affordability. The Navy is expected to select a cost-plus contract to minimize risk put on the contractor in development, but it is unclear how the bids will be graded.

On 14 August 2013, the Navy awarded four development contracts to Boeing, General Atomics, Lockheed Martin, and Northrop Grumman. Each contract was worth $15 million develop airframe designs. The preliminary design review assessment is to support the UCLASS “to enhance aircraft carrier/air wing operations by providing a responsive, world-wide presence via an organic, sea-based unmanned aerial system, with persistent intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and targeting, and strike capabilities.” NAVAIR expects to have a competition for a final airframe design after January 2014. The industry day will now be held in October 2013, with the final RFP released in the second quarter of 2014, and a vehicle selected in the first quarter of 2015.

See also

• UCAS-D