The effort comes as the Air Force looks beyond the MQ-9 Reaper and considers how long-endurance uncrewed aircraft should operate in future conflicts. It is working with the Defense Innovation Unit to draw on DIU’s experience in rapid prototyping and fielding commercial technologies.
“Future conflicts will demand greater mass, faster adaptation and the ability to absorb operational losses while continuing to generate combat effects,” said Lt. Gen. Chris Niemi, Headquarters Air Force chief modernization officer. “As we refine requirements for future long-endurance ISR and strike platform capabilities, our objective is to provide commanders with more options by fielding platforms that are more modular, lower cost, and easier to mass produce.”
The Air Force said it is still working to get the most out of the current MQ-9 fleet through targeted repairs and the purchase of available airframes to meet Combatant Commander requirements. Longer-term planning, however, is increasingly centred on mass, manoeuvre, enduring persistence and distributed lethality.
Under that approach, future ISR systems would be designed from the outset for larger-scale production and faster fielding. They would also be built with greater tolerance for operational risk than traditional aircraft.
A key part of the plan is to make open systems architecture and modular design core requirements from the beginning. The Air Force said interoperability and upgradeability should not be treated as later additions, but as basic features of future uncrewed systems.
To support that shift, the service is using acquisition tools such as DIU’s Commercial Solutions Opening. The process allows the Air Force to prototype more quickly with commercial and non-traditional partners and will help shape the requirements for the MQ-9’s eventual successor.
The goal is to develop a platform that can adapt to a wide range of future missions, including missions that are not yet fully defined. The Air Force said this is intended to help commanders tailor capabilities to different operational problems rather than depend on a single aircraft built for a narrow mission set.
“Open systems architectures allow sensors, kinetic payloads, software and mission applications to be integrated more quickly, while modular designs enable us to modify platforms consistent with mission risk,” Niemi said. The service said this approach supports a more dynamic force design model as threats and operational demands change.
By working with industry early in the process, the Air Force said it aims to deliver a system that is more resilient and adaptable. The service said the effort is part of preparing for a new era of warfare in which uncrewed systems will need to be produced faster, fielded in greater numbers and updated more easily.
