US Air Force issues RFI for C-UAS to enhance protection for locations lacking support

The United States (US) Air Force Life Cycle Management Center is conducting market research to identify possible sources capable of providing counter-uncrewed aerial systems (C-UAS) technology with the ability to “detect, identify, decide and defeat enemy UAS ” to enhance force protection at locations lacking support options, allowing US forces to operate more freely in areas where UAS, particularly small UAS, are widely used.

The need to protect personnel during route movement is the focus of this requirement but the technology should also support personnel in the open while stationary. The system should operate autonomously to decrease the time to intervention but we the RFI states that manual employment will be accepted if it is the most effective option.

The system is required to provide real-time detection of airborne entities within a specified area, identification (aircraft, unknown UAS, friendly UAS), and tracking of multiple airborne entities. The system should support automatic engagement parameters and enable rapid neutralisation options if in a manual setting. The package needs to remain small, lightweight and quick to set up/tear down.

Responses are required by April 9.