The services have looked at this capability since as early as 2004, when the Navy awarded a Phase I Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract for the development and demonstration of a UAV that could be delivered from the Lockheed P-3 Orion anti-submarine and surveillance aircraft\u2019s sonobuoy launch tubes. Since that time, the Air Force Research Laboratory\u2019s Tactical Off Board Sensors (TOBS) program has also continued development work .<\/p>\n
The Army has chosen Area I and its ALTIUS platform to drive progress on its tube-launched, unmanned system. Area I began development of its platform with a 2011 Air Force SBIR contract for its TOBS program. Dr. Nicholas Alley, CEO of Area I, describes the ALTIUS, not as a drone in the conventional sense, but more akin to a \u201cflying sensor.\u201d The drone is autonomous from the moment of launch and only requires a sensor operator to direct its lens.<\/p>\n
After launch, the ALTIUS\u2019s wings unfold, which allows the craft to loiter over the mission area. According to past contract specifications reported by Jane\u2019s, a TOBS platform must provide equal or greater sensor capabilities than the mothership it was launched from. The UAV\u2019s endurance requirements, which remain classified, prevented Raytheon\u2019s Coyote from continuing fielding past range and combat environment testing by the Air Force, according to officials.<\/p>\n
Area I\u2019s ALTIUS, Alley said, has been able to meet or exceed these requirements. Though Alley didn\u2019t comment on specific requirements or systems, earlier SBIR documentation for ALTIUS cited a, \u201cstate-of-the-art, high-energy-density power system that is robust to harsh environmental conditions, does not pose explosive hazards, and is storable for over six months,\u201d as a source of this endurance, as well as a carbon fiber airframe.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s still unclear what that capability and others will be used for by the Army on the battlefield. The Air Force\u2019s plans for TOBS include the deployment of drones from gunships in the event of weather which makes traditional sensors untenable. In a discussion with National Defense, Air Force Special Operations Command\u2019s Lt. Gen. Brad Webb said the TOBS would, \u201c[Slide] below the cloud deck giving the asset its first opportunity to view the team on the ground\u201d in the event sensors otherwise couldn\u2019t be used. However, the Army\u2019s helicopters, including the AH-64 Apache which also fills a close air support role, have sophisticated\u00a0sensor packages and fly at lower altitudes.<\/p>\n