{"id":22063,"date":"2019-04-29T19:09:21","date_gmt":"2019-04-29T19:09:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/uncategorized\/2019\/04\/29\/army-takes-another-stab-at-rucksack-portable-unmanned-aircraft\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T22:36:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T22:36:11","slug":"army-takes-another-stab-at-rucksack-portable-unmanned-aircraft","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/c4isrnet\/unmanned\/2019\/04\/29\/army-takes-another-stab-at-rucksack-portable-unmanned-aircraft\/","title":{"rendered":"US Army takes another stab at \u2018rucksack-portable\u2019 drone"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 The U.S. Army is again attempting to buy rucksack-portable unmanned aircraft systems<\/a> after trying a variety of ways to establish the capability over roughly the past decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The service tried in 2012 and 2013 to issue a capabilities production document for rucksack-portable UAS, and it issued contracts to a group of companies in 2013 to supply small drones on demand, but nothing gained traction as the quintessential capability.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Army\u2019s Raven and Puma UAS \u2014 both small, hand-launched aircraft \u2014 have continued to be in operation, but aren\u2019t as portable as the service wants, particularly at the platoon level.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The tiny Black Hornet UAS <\/a>was selected as a soldier-borne sensor, but the Army still wants to find short-, medium- and long-range UAS that can fit in a backpack, according Brig. Gen. Thomas Todd, the service\u2019s program executive officer for aviation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Todd\u2019s program office has been tasked by the Maneuver Center of Excellence at Fort Benning, Georgia, to pursue rucksack-portable UAS, and this time the Army is prepared to act quickly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe think we will be very agile and get a capability out there in relatively short order,\u201d Todd told Defense News in a recent interview.<\/p>\n\n\n\t