The U.S Marines Want A Mega-Drone With The Same Firepower And Sensors Of An F-35

Bell Helicopter's planned V-247 Vigilant unmanned, single-engine armed tiltrotor platform may be a candidate for the Marine Corps' plan for a mega-drone. (Illustration courtesy Bell Helicopter, a unit of Textron)

DoD Buzz: Future Marine Mega-Drone May Carry Same Weapons as F-35

The Marine Corps is in the hunt for a mega-drone that can take off and land vertically and deploy aboard ship — all while carrying a serious amount of firepower.

The service is asking a lot as it develops its MUX platform, short for Marine air-ground task force unmanned expeditionary capabilities, with plans to reach initial operational capability by 2026.

The Corps’ deputy commandant for aviation, Lt. Gen. Jon “Dog” Davis, said Wednesday at the Unmanned Systems Defense conference in Arlington, Virginia, that this future platform — a Group 5, the largest class of military drone — will be equipped to fight from sea as well as land.

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WNU Editor: I am willing to bet that such a drone will also be cheaper to build and maintain than an F-35.

A Look At The ScanEagle UAV In Operation

Drone Provides Overview Of Vast Naval Exercise -- Stars and Stripes

ABOARD THE USS PONCE, Persian Gulf — While drones have gained a controversial reputation for their use in targeting suspected terrorists, the ScanEagle unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) played a very different role during a mine countermeasures exercise in the Persian Gulf: monitoring the 35 participating warships.

Each morning it was the first thing to be launched from the USS Ponce, the 5th Fleet’s staging base for the three-week drill, and the last thing to return every evening.

ScanEagle does not need a runway — it has its own launcher and is recovered using a special sky hook contraption. The man-sized drone is so light it can be carried from the flight deck into the ship by a single person. Built by Boeing subsidiary Insitu, Inc., it was first used operationally nearly a decade ago in Iraq.

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My Comment: I love how they catch the ScanEagle UAV in the above video.

Naval Aviation History Made With The Use Of Rotary Wing UAVs

MQ-8B Fire Scout Unmanned Aircraft System Departs For First Deployment -- Defpro

NAVAL AIR SYSTEMS COMMAND, Patuxent River, Md. –The MQ-8B Fire Scout made naval aviation history when the fleet deployed this revolutionary rotary wing unmanned aircraft system aboard the USS McInerney (FFG-8) Monday.

Fleet introduction of the Fire Scout marks the first time a large, automated UAS has been delivered for ship board operation by sailors.

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My Comment: The Navy is certainly trying their best to catch up with the Air Force.

U.S. Navy To Base Large UAVs Worldwide

Predator C

From Aviation Week:

Now that the U.S. Navy has moved into the UAV business big time, it’s got to figure out where to put them so that highly mobile fleets have immediate access.

“We’re working closely with the operational community in establishing how we’re going to field and integrate BAMS [RQ-4N Broad Area Maritime Surveillance System] into the Navy and [establish a] joint operational construct with the Air Force,” says Navy Capt. Bob Dishman, program manager for BAMs. “On the Navy side, the P-3 community is going to carry the BAMS capability. They’ll transition from their manned [P-3] truck of the last 30-40 years into the P-8A and at the same time integrate [the BAMS] unmanned system. At the same time we’ll have some joint basing and training opportunities to leverage the investment made by the Air Force in infrastructure.”

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My Comment: US Navy Eyes New UAVs for New Missions -- Aviation Week