U.S. Army's Shadow UAS sustainment contract won by Textron Systems
NewsJanuary 11, 2017
HUNT VALLEY, Md. U.S. Army officials selected Textron Systems Support Solutions - a business division of Textron Systems - for the Shadow Tactical Aircraft System (TUAS) Contractor Logistics Support (CLS), a contract valued an estimated $206 million. Period of performance for this contract began on November 1, 2016 and is expected to continue through 2018.
The contract efforts will include systems sustainment management, engineering support, contractor logistics support management, field service operations, depot material repair, and management and post productions software support.
“Support Solutions has been the chosen CLS contractor for the U.S. Army’s CLS contract since 2005, and we are proud to continue supporting their Shadow systems throughout this past decade,” says Support Solutions Senior Vice President and General Manager Ryan Hazlett. “This contract also supports the U.S. Army’s Shadow v2 block upgrade program, under which Textron Systems acts as an end-to-end solution provider.”
The Shadow TUAS has logged more than one million flight hours, say officials. The Shadow v2 also includes a high-bandwidth, encrypted data link that enables the aircraft to carry payloads ranging from high-definition video to secure control for prosecution missions. The Army is currently teaming the Shadow v2 system with its Apache helicopter fleet for scouting missions within its combat aviation brigades.
Read more on unmanned systems:
DoD demonstrates large autonomous microdrone swarm
UAS claims world record for nonstop unrefueled flight
Naval Research Laboratory completes UAV flight with hydrogen-powered fuel cell
