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Boeing prepares bid for Reaper replacement

Mig-29

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Boeing has outlined early details of its potential bid to win the forthcoming contest to develop a replacement for the US Air Force's (USAF's) General Atomics MQ-9 Predator B (Reaper) unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).

Michael Schoenfeld, Boeing's director of advanced ASW (anti-submarine warfare) and ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) strategic development, told Jane's at the Unmanned Vehicles (UV) Europe conference, taking place in Newport, Wales, on 22 to 23 July, that the company is in a "study phase" with the USAF to develop solutions for its Next Generation Unmanned Aerial System (NG-UAS) programme.

The project, also known as 'MQ-X Reaper replacement activity', signals that USAF efforts to build unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs) are being delayed in favour of acquiring more persistent ISR systems, said Schoenfeld.

The USAF announced in June that it would be issuing a request for proposals (RfP) but it now seems this will slip to the third or fourth quarter of 2010.

General Atomics has already signalled its intention to propose its jet-powered Predator C for MQ-X. Northrop Grumman is also expected to bid, but it has not yet revealed which platform. "We continue to follow the MQ-X programme with interest," a company spokesperson told Jane's .

Boeing prepares bid for Reaper replacement
 
The project, also known as 'MQ-X Reaper replacement activity', signals that USAF efforts to build unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs) are being delayed in favour of acquiring more persistent ISR systems, said Schoenfeld.

The USAF announced in June that it would be issuing a request for proposals (RfP) but it now seems this will slip to the third or fourth quarter of 2010.


Boeing prepares bid for Reaper replacement

UCAVs are going to be a long expensive learning curve not a good start if the next US fighter is supposed to be unmanned to delay teh project before it has even started.
 

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