The head of air warfare for the U.S. Navy said he’s frustrated by a delay in the plan to build a fleet of drones aboard aircraft carriers.
Rear Adm. Michael Manazir, the service’s director of air warfare, on Wednesday said he didn’t know when exactly the Navy expects to solicit bids from companies to begin developing the so-called Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike System, or UCLASS.
“The UCLASS RfP has been ready to release now for over a year,” he said, referring to a request for proposals to begin a competition for the weapons program. “We should have it on the street. We have lost this time to put that technology to work. That’s where my frustration is.”
The Navy had planned to solicit bids last year, but the acquisition effort was delayed until 2016 following questions from lawmakers and Pentagon officials about whether the drone would be stealthy enough to conduct both surveillance and strike missions as part of the carrier air wing, among other issues.
http://www.dodbuzz.com/2015/06/03/admiral-frustrated-by-delay-in-competition-to-build-carrier-drones/?comp=700001076338&rank=8
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