MARITIME TACTICAL UAS

NAVAL AVIATION CAPABILITY PROGRAM

Brief to Industry – Avalon 26 Feb 19

Strategic Guidance

• To improve the situational awareness

of ships on operations, we will acquire

a new tactical unmanned intelligence,

surveillance, and reconnaissance

aircraft system that will complement

other sensors and systems by

extending the area able to be held

under surveillance.

Changing Strategic Drivers

• Strategic drivers continue to evolve since the 2016

Defence White Paper and Integrated Investment

Program.

• MTUAS capability needs and requirements will evolve

• MTUAS capability urgency can only accelerate

Navy’s Future Force

Arafura Class OPV

Primary Mission

• Enhance the OPV’s ability

to undertake operations:

– Constabulary Role

– ISR

– Boarding Operations

– SAR

Arafura Class OPV

Secondary Missions

• Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief

• Evacuation Operations

• Task Group Operations:

– Force Protection

– Recognised Maritime Picture

– Rapid Environmental Assessments

– Mine Counter Measures

Stage 1 - OPVOPV

HMAS Stirling

HMAS Coonawarra

HMAS Cairns

HMAS Albatross

Capability Bricks

+ Raise Train Sustain

Arafura Class OPV

• Large enough flight deck for all MTUAS operations.

• Almost certainly a fully containerised MTUAS solution

• Flight deck is rated to 11 tonnes

FWD View (from Mid Flight Deck)

STBD Container Positon

Major Fleet Units

• Mission Set– ISR&T

– Comms/Link Node

– Battle Damage

Assessment

– Search & Rescue

– Electronic Warfare

• Classes– Hunter - FFG

– Supply - AOR

– Anzac - FFH

– Canberra – LHD

– Hobart - DDG

– Choules - LSD

Stage 1 - OPV

MFUs

West Based MFUs

East Based MFUs

HMAS Albatross

Capability Bricks

+ Raise Train Sustain

Schedule

• Gate 0 – Achieved Aug 16

• Gate 1 – Early to mid 2020

• Gate 2 – Early to mid 2022

• SEA129-5 IOC – mid 2020s

• SEA129-5 FOC – late 2020s

SEA 129-5 Status Update

• Not constrained to formerly advised

staged acquisition (Stages 1 and 2).

• Defence are considering a PSI /

Capability Partner approach

SEA 129-5 PSI Potential Considerations

• Government direction pending

• Potential PSI components under consideration

– PSI to be responsible for developing, delivering, maintaining

and sustaining the required level of capability, including training

elements within defined parameters; operated by Defence.

– PSI would operate in partnership with Defence for the life of the

capability – 20 to 30 years

– A Tranche approach may be considered to allow technical and

system refreshes to assure capability in an evolving threat

environment

SEA 129-5 Market Approach

• Government direction pending

• Open RFP to advise approach to be taken and

down-select

– Mid to late 2020

• Restricted RFT to select supplier/industry

partner

– Early to mid 2021

– Classification likely to be SECRET.

MARITIME TACTICAL UAS

NAVAL AVIATION CAPABILITY PROGRAM