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GovCon Wire’s Weekly Roundup: Opportunities in the Unmanned Systems Marketplace

 

Weekly Roundup

May 29 – June 2 2017

A Note From Our President & Founder Jim Garrettson

Unmanned systems are starting to be more and more ubiquitous in our daily lives. While they’ve been in use in the defense industry for decades, increased attention from the commercial sector means we can expect to see some disruption within the industry in the next few years.

The opportunities for the govcon industry appear abundant as commercial and defense applications of this technology become more sophisticated and ambitious.

A particularly noteworthy development in the unmanned systems market was the Customs and Border Protection’s solicitation for a sUAS (small unmanned aerial system) with facial recognition capabilities. It ought to be noted that although the Department of Homeland Security and the CBP have previously used UAVs in the past, the models being used were actually created for use on foreign battlefields. The DHS and CBP are seeking the development of a smaller UAS, created specifically for them, rather than using an existing UAV for purposes it wasn’t initially created to fulfill.

Although the deadline for the CBP’s sUAS was at the end of April, the solicitation seems a bellwether for what other agencies may be interested in purposing UAVs for.

Smaller UAVs are capable of nimble maneuvers and intensive coordination in a manner that their larger cousins are not optimized for, thus making the applications of sUAVs quite versatile.

The CBP’s desire for a sUAS capable of facial recognition could open the floodgates for other agencies, and even local law enforcement and anti-terrorism operations, that may wish to acquire biometrically capable UAVs. Developers of biometric software and hardware, UAV manufacturers and maintenance service providers will likely be in high demand as interest in UAV applications increases.

The FAA is well aware of the increasing prevalence of commercial and defense-related UAVs and has a number of initiatives set on regulating their use. Despite the FAA’s registration system being struck down by a Federal court, the ruling does not “affect any aircraft operated for commercial operations.”

The FAA is also examining UAS collision risks, conducting a study in early May on potentially dangerous components of unmanned systems and potential injuries that may result from unmanned systems collisions. We can expect to see more unmanned systems technologies, used across the public and private sectors, even as lawmakers and the FAA combine to solidify regulations for them.

Aerial vehicles are hardly the only type of unmanned systems that deserve a closer look.

UAVs, ground robots, underwater explorers, mine hunting UUVs, bomb-defusing robots and more sophisticated satellites are already being manufactured and in some cases are already operational, but this is just the tip of the iceberg. All fall under the unmanned systems umbrella, and all are enjoying increased interest from industry.

As the manufacturing costs for these products decreases, and as military and civilian interest in them increases, we will begin to see more creative, innovative and efficient uses for this technology.

If you’re interested in learning more about innovations and new uses for unmanned systems, you can register for the Potomac Officers Club’s Unmanned Systems Forum. The Forum will be held on June 6th, beginning at7:00 AM at 2941 Restaurant located at 2941 Fairview Park Drive, Falls Church, VA 22042.

THIS WEEK’S TOP GOVCON STORIES

4 Charts That Explain $95.7 Billion Trump IT Budget
President Donald Trump’s fiscal year 2018 budget proposes to spend $95.7 billion to update Federal information technology, a 1.7 percent increase from fiscal year 2017, according to the administration.
Vectrus Lands $212M Army Contract Modification for Comms & Info Systems Support
Vectrus has secured a $212 million contract modification from the U.S. Army to support communications equipment and information systems of the Army Network Enterprise Technology Command and its subordinate units in the Southwest Asia theater of operations.
DXC Lands $150M GSA Contract for Federal ID Credential Mgmt Support; Marilyn Crouther Comments
DXC Technology has secured a potential $150 million contract to help the General Services Administration deliver personal identity verification credential issuance and maintenance services to civilian agency employees.
CGI Federal to Build Army’s Contract Writing System Under Potential $134M Award
CGI‘s federal business has received a potential $133.9 million contract to develop an enterprise-wide software platform for the U.S. Army to write, manage, execute or close out a contract.
Cloudera Unveils Managed Data Engineering Service
Cloudera has introduced a platform-as-a-service offering designed to help data engineers run large-scale data processing applications in a public cloud environment.
Financial Mgmt Pro David Norquist Confirmed as Pentagon’s Comptroller
The Senate on Thursday voted unanimously to confirm David Norquist, a former partner at Alexandria, Virginia-based financial services contractor Kearney & Company, as comptroller of the Defense Department.
U.S. Holds First Successful Tests of Intercontinental Ballistic Missile Defense System
The U.S. military successfully launched its first-ever missile defense test involving a simulated attack by an intercontinental ballistic (ICBM) missile.
Navy Awards General Dynamics Unit $244M Surface Combat Training Support Contract
A General Dynamics business unit has received a potential five-year, $244 million contract to provide training support services for the U.S. Navy’s Center for Surface Combat Systems.
Report: DHS Scraps $1.5B Agile Devt Support Contract Vehicle
The Department of Homeland Security has called off a potential $1.5 billion contract vehicle that was designed to help DHS components procure agile design and development services from small businesses.
Northrop to Provide Air Force AESA Radars, Support Services Under $244M Contract
Northrop Grumman has been awarded a $243.9 million contract to supply 72 Active Electronically Scanned Array radars, spares and support services to the U.S. Air Force.

 

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