QinetiQ has been awarded an aerial target systems (ATS-3) contract by the U.S. Army, with an estimated ceiling of $95 million. This marks the company’s first venture into the U.S. market as a prime contractor for aerial target systems.
Announced in an October 28 press release, the contract falls under the category of indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, allowing QinetiQ to compete for various task orders. The company will provide a range of aerial systems, including the MQM-185B (Banshee Jet 80+), a UAS training target that QinetiQ has supplied to the U.S. Army previously. Aerial systems will be provided to simulate threats during the Army’s training and testing exercises.
The rationale behind the contract lies in the U.S. Army’s need for advanced systems to enhance training effectiveness against evolving aerial threats. According to Sam Lewis, Group Chief Growth Officer at QinetiQ:
“Achieving this first step of becoming a prime contractor to the U.S. Army has been a global effort, drawing on our world-leading expertise in target systems, engineering and robotics services from our operations in the UK, US, Australia, Germany and Canada.”
Under this contract, QinetiQ is tasked with leveraging its expertise to research and develop new target technologies, deliver systems engineering for improved performance and integrate advanced payloads for threat replication. The company also aims to enhance autonomous capabilities through advanced software solutions.
This contract follows a recent announcement by the U.S. Army stating that basic combat training at Fort Sill will now include C-UAS training exercises. This suggests a wider effort by the U.S. Army to ensure troops are prepared to deal with the evolving nature of aerial threats such as those posed by UAS, which have been repeatedly demonstrated throughout the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East.
With over 30 years of experience in the aerial targets market, QinetiQ reports a 97 percent mission success rate over the past five years. The adaptable nature of its target systems allows for rapid integration of new payloads and customisation to meet specific requirements, which the Army will likely draw on in the development of comprehensive training scenarios.
Post Image – The Banshee Jet 80+ is a dual-jet training target with impressive payload capacity designed for threat representation and military operational training (Post Image Credit: QinetiQ)
