The AFRL Innovation Research contract for Blue Force Technologies is for the development of an unmanned aircraft that supports adversary air training missions under the Bandit program.
Blue Force Technologies, a small aerospace and defense company based in North Carolina, has been awarded a $9 million initial value contract by the Air Force Research Laboratory Aerospace Systems Directorate. The Small Business Innovation Research contract is for the development of an unmanned air vehicle that supports adversary air (ADAIR) training missions under the Bandit program.
The program aims to provide an unmanned air vehicle solution for the unmanned ADAIR capability, which, when integrated with autonomy, mission payloads, and sensors, will revolutionize the adversary air training mission and provide key opportunities for pilots to interact with the unmanned systems in a training environment.
The proposed autonomy-based system provides adversary air training for Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps fighter crews at greatly reduced costs compared to current manned capabilities. The 12-month effort will mature the vehicle design to a critical design level, perform engine ground testing, and validate the design of the engine installation under the technical guidance of AFRL subject matter experts. Options under this contract, if exercised, will complete the design and engineering tasks, produce up to four air vehicles, and complete initial flight testing.
“These small unmanned ADAIR systems can be flown in training scenarios so that fighter pilots can train against tactically relevant adversaries in threat representative numbers. The goal is to develop an unmanned platform that looks like a fifth-generation adversary with similar vehicle capabilities,” said Alyson Turri, Bandit program manager, AFRL.
The Bandit program contract was awarded as the result of a Strategic Financing (STRATFI) proposal selected by AFWERX. The program aims to address the need for alternate approaches to costly adversary air sorties at the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Life Cycle Industry Days in August 2021. SBIR work with Blue Force Technologies began in 2019 and covered the initial requirements development, vehicle design, analysis, and build of a structural test article supporting unmanned ADAIR.
Read more stories… Airbus signs new cooperation agreements in China
The Bandit program is being coordinated with Air Combat Command and has aligned the vehicle development effort in support of the unmanned ADAIR capability. This contract marks a significant milestone in the development of the Bandit program, and the AFRL is optimistic about the potential of the program to enhance adversary air training missions and provide key opportunities for pilots to interact with unmanned systems in a training environment.
