Textron's army drone rodeo will feature vertical takeoff

Textron Systems is planning to show off its vertical takeoff and landing unmanned aerial system in an Army drone rodeo at Fort Benning, Georgia. It will be competing to replace the service's RQ-7B Shadow. The Future Tactical Unmanned Aerial Systems, or FTUAS, Rodeo will start the trial run in the first week of March and feature troops demonstrating drone prototypes from four defense firms that have been under soldier evaluation for the past year. "We are excited about where the Army is taking this more expeditionary system for the BCTs," Wayne Prender, Textron Systems' senior vice president for air systems, told defense reporters Thursday.

After a fly-off event in 2019 involving 11 drone vendors, the Army selected four finalists - the Textron Aerosonde Hybrid Quad, Arcturus Jump 20, L3 Harris Unmanned Systems FVR-90, and Martin UAV V-Bat, to participate in a capability assessment involving brigade combat teams, or BCTs, from the across the service. The Shadow's replacement will be quiet, easily transportable, and able to take off and land without runway requirements.

"Currently, the Aerosonde 4.7 drone is operating worldwide in support of the U.S. and allied forces through contracts with the U.S. Special Operations Command, U.S. Naval Air Systems Command, and the U.S. Air Force. Textron's entry into the drone rodeo at Benning will be the same system it delivered to the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team at Joint Base Lewis McChord, Washington, but will feature an upgrade it provided to the unit allowing soldiers to control the drone while moving in a tactical vehicle," said Prender.