Army To Deploy Vertical Take-Off UAS

The U.S. Army is using a hybrid-type acquisition approach to develop a helicopter-like, Vertical-Take-Off-and-Landing Unmanned Aerial System with a so-called ARGUS wide-area surveillance sensor suite designed to beam back information and images of the surrounding terrain, service officials said.Beginning in May or June of next year, the Army will deploy three Boeing-built A160 Hummingbird VTOL UAS to Afghanistan as part of a Quick Reaction Capability, an acquisition approach aimed at delivering cutting-edge and emerging technologies to theater to add capability and inform requirements while simultaneously developing a formal Program of Record approach, said Lt. Col. Matthew Munster, product manager, UAS Modernization. "These aircraft will deploy for up to one full year as a way to harness lessons learned and funnel them into a program of record," Munster said.