Pentagon adds ‘bombers’ to Drone Dominance Program

The Defense Department is adding a new element to its billion-dollar Drone Dominance Program by incorporating unmanned aerial systems that are reusable and can drop bombs on enemy targets.

Since its inception last year, the program has been focused on evaluating and procuring large quantities of low-cost, one-way attack drones for the military, with the goal of rapidly fielding them across the force. Now, that portfolio is expanding, the Pentagon announced this week.

“Drones are reshaping the character of war. To meet this challenge, the Department of War (DoW) must provide ground combat forces with the tools needed to locate, close with, and destroy the enemy in close combat. While one-way attack (OWA) is critical on the battlefield, additional strike capability is required to support warfighters at low cost, at scale, and from a supply chain that is resilient,” officials wrote in a new request for solutions for “reusable bomber/dropper platforms.”

The bomber drones won’t be like the large, manned bombers in the Air Force’s inventory. For this initiative, the department is seeking man-packable or light-duty combat vehicle-transportable UAS with a mission range of 15-30 kilometers.

“While DDP does not specify a system size, the government assumes most systems will be 55lb Gross Takeoff Weight or smaller excluding payload weight,” officials wrote in the RFS. The envisioned total payload weight is 8-plus kilograms, “commensurate” with mortars and other applicable munitions in the military’s inventory.

The platforms must be able to carry multiple warheads and strike “single and multiple moving and stationary targets in succession.” Target sets could include enemy personnel, light armor, maritime surface or landing craft, heavy armor, or other assets.

The Pentagon wants bomber drones that can operate in all-weather and all-lighting conditions and be resilient to attempted jamming of communications and navigation systems.

Other desirable features include advanced target engagement — such as automated target recognition capabilities — as well as autonomous behaviors, data feeds and interoperability with other systems.

“Vendors shall demonstrate targeting capabilities designed to improve engagement effectiveness, increase delivery accuracy, and reduce operation cognitive workload during target prosecution. This shall include but not be limited to non-moving drone against nonmoving target, non-moving drone against moving target and moving drone against moving target at various heights,” per the RFS.

“Systems with advanced features are expected to achieve better results than simple first-person view (FPV) drones that are manual and rely on continuous operator input and manual piloting skill for all flight and mission tasks. As bombers are reusable the government expects a higher level of reliability and capability compared to OWA systems,” officials wrote.

Companies that pass a qualifier round involving vendor-operated systems will proceed shortly thereafter to a competitive evaluation, or “Gauntlet,” that’s slated for October. The aim of the Gauntlet, where warfighters will put vendors’ drones through their paces, is to identify the most capable small UAS for scaling and fielding.

“Vendors should note that evaluations will consider the performance of the entire system, including all durable system components like the payload release system, ground control equipment and any supporting assets, which will form the basis for later delivery requirements,” per the RFS.

Following the warfighter assessments, the Pentagon plans to award a total of approximately $32 million in initial prototype orders to the top performers. The department anticipates purchasing up to 1,200 prototype systems and associated logistics packages for that phase of the initiative. Officials will expect vendors to provide all the procured prototype platforms within five months of delivery order — and half of them within two-and-a-half months of delivery order.

“Additional orders are planned in the subsequent phases” of the program, according to the solicitation.

The Pentagon is aiming to buy hundreds of thousands of drones via the DDP, primarily one-way attack UAS.

“Due to their reusability, bombers will not be ordered at the same volumes as OWA, but this Phase 2.5 Mission C order is an initial commitment to industry for larger purchases in future phases,” officials wrote .

Industry responses to the solicitation are due Aug. 5.