NAVAIR UAV Chief Says New Strategy Needed For Joint Development

Posted on: Apr. 21st, 2006 || Source: aviationweek.com | E-mail Article | Print Article

NAVAIR UAV Chief Says New Strategy Needed For Joint Development

The demise of the Joint Unmanned Combat Air System (J-UCAS) program is another example of why the Pentagon needs to reconsider what it wants from joint development programs, the head of the Navy's strike weapons and unmanned aviation program said April 18.

"We start joint, but we never carry it across the goal line for some reason," Rear Adm. Timothy Heely said. "There are very few joint success stories," he told The DAILY after addressing the Precision Strike Association's conference on asymmetric warfare.

"I'm just looking at history," he said. "We spend a lot of money on pursuing a joint thing, and then we pull out at the last second. It's just wasted money."

The J-UCAS program was a joint effort to develop strike unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) capable of fulfilling both Air Force and Navy requirements. The Pentagon cut funding in fiscal 2007 when the Air Force decided instead to develop aircraft for long-range strike and surveillance with plans for larger payloads and higher speeds. The Navy is going ahead with plans for a stealthy, tactical-range, unmanned combat aircraft capable of operating from aircraft carriers.

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