MQ-1C Sky Warrior Project Overview

In August 2005, the U.S. Army awarded a contract for an Extended-Range/Multi-Purpose (ER/MP) UAS to General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc (GA-ASI). GA-ASI proposed a variant of their highly successful Predator UAS, the Sky Warrior. CDL Systems was subcontracted by AAI Corporation to provide VCS-4586 to serve as the control software for this project.

The U.S. Army has recognized the need for an interoperable platform to control and share information between their UAS assets and NATO partners. We are actively integrating and tailoring VCS-4586 specifically to meet the complex requirements of the U.S. Army's first STANAG 4586 compatible UAS.

The US Army plans to field up to 132 Sky Warriors at the division level. Each of the 11 units will contain five ground stations and up to 12 aerial vehicles. The Sky Warrior will be operating in a reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition role. It will be part of an integrated command, control, communications and intelligence system. The U.S. Army plans to field this advanced UAS to assume some of the roles currently performed by the Air Force's Predator in 2009.