US Air Force’s MQ‐X UAV In Project 2012 Full High Technologie Armament System

Two contracts now in competition – for the US Navy and Marine Corps’ small tactical unmanned
systems (STUAS) and the US Air Force’s MQ‐X UAV requirement will define key roles for unmanned
aircraft systems operated by US forces for possibly decades to come. The STUAS/Tier II competition
is scheduled to conclude in September, although the award may be postponed until after late
September.

The USN and USMC have not published an estimate for total orders, but industry officials estimate a production run of 250 systems, with three to four vehicles likely for each system. Four teams are known to have submitted bids and performed flying demonstrations. Those competitors are the AAI Aerosonde Mk 4.7, the Boeing/Insitu Integrator, the UAV Dynamics Storm and the Raytheon/Swift Engineering KillerBee‐4.

The USN and USMC have issued requirements for an aircraft at least three times the size of the 18kg (38lb) Scan Eagle airframe. The services want an aircraft that can operate up to 4km (2nm) from either a land‐ or ship‐based ground control station. The aircraft should have at least 10h endurance, with up to 24h desired, providing full motion video throughout the flight. The current schedule calls for initial operational capability (IOC) in fiscal year 2012.

Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works today division unveiled this aircraft concept at the Air Force Association's annual convention in Washington DC. The USAF plans to buy the MQ-X to augment and replace the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial systems (UAS). I snapped this picture of the Skunks' MQ-X concept on display in their exhibit area, as well as this chart below. No subject matter experts were immediately available to comment on this particular design for the MQ-X UAV requirement.

The USAF has launched the first step in the process of finalising the requirements for the MQ‐X programme. The initial capabilities document for the MQ‐X has already been completed. The USAF’s newly released UAS flight plan up to 2047 lists several desired capabilities for the MQ‐X aircraft, but the timelines for the programme remain in flux. The USAF has planned to acquire an MQ‐X aircraft in the near term that would share many capabilities of the current aircraft performing the role namely the Predator/Reaper series. It would be followed by a family of increasingly sophisticated aircraft designated MQ‐Ma to MQ‐Mb to MQ‐Mc, with the latter having an air‐to‐air capability.