Family of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems
Description
Small UASs are reusable, and man-packable/portable. They provide a means to see the battlespace beyond line-of-sight restrictions. The systems fulfill a need for organic, real-time Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition (RSTA) and battle damage assessment at the small unit (battalion and below) level. Assets support numerous unit types across the Marine Air-Ground Task Force and the Navy fleet.
| FoSUAS System | Requirement |
| Short Range/Short Endurance (SR/SE) | Man Packable (< two kilograms). Deployable within 60 seconds for over the hill RSTA with a run time > 30 minutes |
| Man Portable (< five kilograms). Deployable in under five minutes for RSTA and functionality in tether and drop capabilities. Desired attributes include a duration of > 45 minutes, at 10 kilometers | |
| Medium Range/Medium Endurance (MR/ME) | Deployable in under 10 minutes for RSTA functionality, weighing < nine kilograms. Desired attributes also include a duration of two-four hours, at 20-40 kilometers |
| Long Range/Long Endurance (LR/LE) | Deployable in under 30 minutes for RSTA functionality. Desired attributes include a duration of > four hours at a distance > 60 kilometers, weighing < 25 kilograms |
| All Systems | Deployable in GPS denied environments; National Defense Authorization Act Compliance |
TRAINING AND LOGISTICS SUPPORT ACTIVITIES (TALSA)
The TALSAs are the central location for scheduling and formal Initial Qualification Training that covers system operation and maintenance. They also serve as a logistics hub for centralized storage and are ready to ship systems across the globe, while providing all product support elements for the Navy and Marine Corps fleet of Small UAS.
Additional TALSA services include educating units on Small UAS mission planning, employment, and integration; assisting units to maintain operator, unit instructor, and unit-evaluator currency; providing instruction how to establish and maintain unit Small UAS program; and providing fleet assistance and subject matter expert support.
Collectively, TALSAs provide Small UAS operators the skills and system readiness necessary to support their unit with boots-on-the-ground ISR, force protection, and battlefield awareness.
SMALL UAS (SUAS) REUSABLE ARCHITECTURE (SRA)
SRA is a reference implementation that evaluates Department of Defense and Service-level cybersecurity policies and instructions. It defines an interoperability construct built on widely accepted third party payloads. SRA achieves a vendor/platform-agnostic Type Authority to Operate (ATO) for both test and operational use and maintains the SRA Type ATO to keep pace with evolving guidance and threats. It is a mechanism to continuously and rapidly evaluate Small UAS components for compliance while providing all necessary tooling to enable vendors to plan ahead for current & future UAS.
The assessment process for SRA is initiated and executed by industry through a PMA-established baseline. SRA uses Sherpa to facilitate assessments for full systems, components, or payloads. Controls are bucketed based on the responsible party and industry works at their pace. The program office is engaged only when needed.
SRA compliance is outcome-oriented. Some aspects are flexible, but deviation may lead to delays or restricted use.