US Army announces attack reconnaissance aircraft prototype award

OH-58D Kiowa Warriors with the 1st Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, conducted a flyover over the City of Fayetteville, N.C., April 15, 2016. The flyover served as the final flight of the squadrons Kiowa Warriors in mainland America. The U.S. Army looks to close a critical capability gap left when they divested of the Kiowa.

The U.S. Army awarded five Other Transaction Authority for Prototype Agreements for the aircraft design, build, and test of the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft, April 23. The FARA shall be capable of achieving and sustaining overmatch against potential competitors and enduring asymmetric threats by closing or mitigating gaps in Army aviation attack and reconnaissance.

The five industry partners are AVX Aircraft Co. (Fort Worth Texas) partnered with L-3 Communications Integrated Systems L.P. (Waco, Texas); Bell Helicopter Textron Inc. (Fort Worth, Texas); The Boeing Company (Mesa, Arizona); Karem Aircraft, Inc. (Lake Forest, California) and Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. (Stratford, Connecticut).

Announced nearly two months ahead of schedule, Joseph Giunta, executive director for U.S. Army Contracting Command-Redstone, credits the Other Transaction Authority (OTA) set forth by Congress. "This is not procurement as usual. The OTA capability gives us flexibility, allowing us to be more responsive to the timelines in order to meet specific requirements," said Giunta.

Gen. John M. Murray, U.S. Army Futures Command Commanding General, attributes the success to the combined efforts of the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center, Army Contracting Command, and the Future Vertical Lift Cross-Functional Team.

"In just over a one-year period, the Army moved from the FARA 'kick-off' to now awarding prototype contracts - a process that traditionally takes three to five years to achieve," Murray said. "While much work remains to be done, today's announcement certainly highlights how the Army is already streamlining the modernization process to provide our Soldiers, and our future Soldiers, the equipment they need when they need it to win on future battlefields," he said.

Source, Image: U.S. Army