The military is set to acquire an additional 48,750 military-grade commercial uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) over the next two years, sourced from five models, a procurement notice from the Ministry of National Defense’s Armaments Bureau showed yesterday.
The previous procurement plan is expected to be completed by the end of this year, while this new and independent plan would run through to 2027.
The specifications of the latest plan largely fit into the previous categories of short and long-range fixed-wing UAVs, rotorcraft UAVs and vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) fixed-wing UAVs.
Photo courtesy of the Military News Agency
According to information released yesterday on the Government e-Procurement System, the bureau’s Material Production and Manufacturing Center has opened solicitations for five new UAV models, inviting domestic manufacturers to submit eligible models for evaluation.
The five models have been temporarily labeled as type A through E, although each was given strict technical requirements.
Types A and B are multi-rotor UAVs with a 6km and 25km minimum control range respectively, with the procurement quantity for type A set at 7,500 units next year and 26,500 in 2027, while Type B is 1,100 units next year and 3,200 in 2027.
Types C and D are both fixed-wing UAVs.
Type C should have a control range of more than 90km and a minimum flight time of two hours, while Type D should have a control range of at least 30km and at least 30 minutes flight time.
The bureau is looking to procure 970 units of Type C and 1,350 units of Type D next year, and an additional 2,980 Type C and 4,450 Type D the following year.
Type E is a VTOL fixed-wing UAV with a control range of more than 100km, minimum flight time of two-and-a-half hours, average cruising speed of more than 80kph and the ability to withstand winds above Beaufort scale 5 during take-off and landing.
The procurement quantity has been set to 350 units per year for next year and 2027.
This latest UAV procurement is a significant scale-up from the ongoing one, which included just more than 3,000 units.
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