Textron Aerosonde UAS

Below are two news releases reporting contracts for Contractor-Owned/Contractor-Operated Aerosonde Uncrewed Air System operation support, first on the Littoral Combat Ships bound for the 5th Fleet (Central Command) and second for an unidentified ship deploying to 6th Fleet (European Command).

Textron Systems Awarded Uncrewed Aircraft System (UAS) Contracts For Three Additional U.S. Navy Littoral Combat Ships (LCSs)

Aerosonde® UAS Increases Maritime Contractor-Owned/Contractor-Operated (COCO) Missions

Hunt Valley, Md., November 18, 2024 – Textron Systems Corporation, a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company, announced today that it has been awarded a task order valued at up to $47 million by the U.S. Navy’s Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) to provide COCO UAS services to three Independence Class Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) deploying to 5th Fleet. This award follows a 2023 contract to provide UAS support to LCSs, bringing the total number of U.S. Navy ships supported by the Aerosonde® UAS to 10.

Textron Systems will deploy its Aerosonde UAS and skilled personnel to provide mission overwatch and extended range intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) services with enhanced mission payloads as seen aboard the Expeditionary Sea Base (ESB)-4 and ESB-5, as well as two DDG-class ships and three LCSs. In December 2023, the Aerosonde UAS took its inaugural operational flight from its first LCS, the LCS-28 USS Savannah.

“Textron Systems has delivered COCO services with our Aerosonde UAS for over a decade, demonstrating the flexibility and value a model like this brings to the services,” said David Phillips, Senior Vice President Air, Land and Sea Systems. “Because we are managing the full life cycle of the system, including technology integration, human factors, spares and repairs, employing the Aerosonde UAS enables the Navy customer to focus solely on their mission. We extend the customer’s capabilities across the mission packages of each ship reliably and quickly.”

The Aerosonde UAS offers multi-mission capability built upon a family of systems which have amassed over 700,000 flight hours over more than 10 years. The system is equipped for multiple payload configurations with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and fixed-wing options.

NAVAIR Public Release SPR-2024-0803. Distribution Statement A – “Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited”

Textron Systems Awarded Uncrewed Aircraft System (UAS) Contract For Additional U.S. Navy Ship

Aerosonde® UAS Increases Maritime Contractor-Owned/Contractor-Operated (COCO) Missions

Hunt Valley, Md., November 20, 2024 – Textron Systems Corporation, a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company, announced today that it has been awarded a task order valued at up to $17 million by the U.S. Navy’s Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) to provide COCO UAS services to a U.S. Navy ship deploying to 6th Fleet. This award brings the total number of U.S. Navy ships supported by the Aerosonde® UAS to 11.

Textron Systems will deploy its Aerosonde UAS and skilled personnel to provide mission overwatch and extended range intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) services with enhanced mission payloads. In September, Textron Systems was contracted to provide support to three additional Littoral Combat Ships (LCS).

“Textron Systems is committed to enhancing the Navy’s mission sets. The continued use of ISR support demonstrates the benefit of the COCO model and the services our Aerosonde UAS provides to the sailor,” said David Phillips, Senior Vice President Air, Land and Sea Systems. “The flexibility in a COCO mission allows the Navy to extend their capabilities while we as the contractor manage the full life cycle of the system, ultimately resulting in greater efficiency and reliability.”

The Aerosonde UAS offers multi-mission capability built upon a family of systems which have amassed over 700,000 flight hours over more than 10 years. The system is equipped for multiple payload configurations with both vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) and fixed-wing options.

NAVAIR Public Release SPR-2024-0801. Distribution Statement A – “Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited”