RQ-11 UAV

The Family of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (FoSUAS) is a part of the Commandant of the Marine Corps Force Design 2030 initiative. The program aims to provide battalion/company/detachment level units with scalable airborne Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition (RSTA) capabilities to aid in detecting, identifying, engaging, and/or avoiding enemy units. The program's specific goals include developing Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (SUAS) for various range and endurance requirements, such as Short Range/Short Endurance (SR/SE), Medium Range/Medium Endurance (MR/ME), and Long Range/Long Endurance (LR/LE) systems. These systems are designed to meet validated operational requirements delineated in the Operational Requirements Document (ORD), Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) Rapid Acquisition Top Level Requirements (TLR), and Long Range/Long Endurance (LR/LE) TLR.

The program's objectives include reducing operational risk and improving operational flexibility in asset allocation to maximize economy of force across the conflict continuum. Additionally, the program aims to develop Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems with reusable architecture capability to reduce size, weight, and manpower required to operate a SUAS, increase operator mobility, improve digital interoperability, protect cyber security, decrease maintenance and sustainment costs, minimize risk and cost associated with technology insertion and improvement, reduce manpower required to operate a FoSUAS, and improve interoperability by permitting industry, government, and academia to design-to-field hardware and software capabilities with well-defined integration and cybersecurity requirements upfront. The program also seeks to accelerate payload integration and allow portability of both software and hardware-based functionality across disparate platforms and control segments.