The modern concept of
United States Department of DefenseThe United States Department of Defense is the federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the military...
UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) is to have the various aircraft systems work together in support of personnel on the ground. The integration scheme is described in terms of a "Tier" system, and is used by military planners to designate the various individual aircraft elements in an overall usage plan for integrated operations. The Tiers do not refer to specific models of aircraft, but rather roles the aircraft must fill.
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The modern concept of
United States Department of DefenseThe United States Department of Defense is the federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the military...
UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) is to have the various aircraft systems work together in support of personnel on the ground. The integration scheme is described in terms of a "Tier" system, and is used by military planners to designate the various individual aircraft elements in an overall usage plan for integrated operations. The Tiers do not refer to specific models of aircraft, but rather roles the aircraft must fill. Periodically the models that fill each role become outdated. The roles are also periodically expanded to encompass more functionality. In these cases, several different aircraft designers such as
BoeingThe Boeing Company is a major aerospace and defense corporation, founded by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Its international headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois, since 2001...
and
Lockheed MartinLockheed Martin is a multinational aerospace manufacturer, global security and advanced technology company formed in 1995 by the merger of Lockheed with Martin Marietta. It is headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, in the Washington Metropolitan Area. Lockheed Martin employs 146,000 people...
write design proposals. These proposals are compared, and the best design is then put into production as the next aircraft to fill the given role. The U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Marine Corps each has its own tier system, and the two systems are themselves not integrated.
US Air Force tiers
- Tier N/A: Small/Micro UAV. Role filled by BATMAV (Wasp Block III). http://www.fbo.gov/servlet/Documents/R/1610757
- Tier I: Low altitude, long endurance. Role filled by the Gnat 750
The General Atomics GNAT is a reconnaissance UAV developed in the United States in the late 1980s and manufactured by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. . As initially designed, it was a simplified version of the LSI Amber intended for foreign sales...
.
- Tier II: Medium altitude, long endurance (MALE). Role currently filled by the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper
The MQ-9 Reaper is an unmanned aerial vehicle developed by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems for use by the United States Air Force, the United States Navy, and the British Royal Air Force...
.
- Tier II+: High altitude, long endurance conventional UAV (or HALE UAV). Altitude: 60,000 to , less than airspeed, radius, 24 hour time-on-station capability. Complementary to the Tier III- aircraft. Role currently filled by the RQ-4 Global Hawk
The Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk is an unmanned aerial vehicle used by the United States Air Force as a surveillance aircraft....
.
- Tier III-: High altitude, long endurance low-observable UAV. Same parameters as, and complementary to, the Tier II+ aircraft. The RQ-3 DarkStar
The RQ-3 DarkStar is an unmanned aerial vehicle . Its first flight was on March 29, 1996. The Department of Defense terminated DarkStar in January 1999, after determining the UAV was neither aerodynamically stable nor meeting cost and performance objectives...
was originally intended to fulfill this role before it was "terminated."
US Marine Corp tiers
- Tier N/A: Micro UAV. Wasp is targeted for this role, now more so given commonality with USAF BATMAV. https://www.mcwl.usmc.mil/mcp/Initiatives/Technology%20Investigation/41-MCP-%20WASP%2010%20Jul%2006.pdf
- Tier I: Role currently filled by the Dragon Eye
The Dragon Eye Unmanned Aerial Vehicle is a small reconnaissance UAV developed by the Naval Research Laboratory and the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory for use by the U.S. Marine Corps....
but transitioning to the RQ-11B Raven B.
- Tier II: Role currently filled by the Scan Eagle and, to some extent, the RQ-2 Pioneer
The RQ-2 Pioneer is an unmanned aerial vehicle that has been utilized by the United States Navy, Marine Corps, and Army, deploying aboard ship and ashore since 1986. Initially deployed aboard battleships to provide gunnery spotting, its mission evolved into reconnaissance and surveillance,...
.
- Tier III: Role currently filled by the Pioneer, although USMC planners do not view this aircraft as meeting future Tier III requirements.
US Army tiers
- Tier I: Small UAV. Role filled by the RQ-11A/B Raven
The AeroVironment RQ-11 Raven is a remote-controlled miniature unmanned aerial vehicle used by the U.S. military and its allies. The craft is launched by hand and powered by an electric motor...
.
- Tier II: Short Range Tactical UAV. Role filled by the RQ-7A/B Shadow 200
The RQ-7 Shadow unmanned aerial vehicle is used by the United States Army and Marine Corps. Launched from a rail, it is recovered with the aid of arresting gear similar to jets on an aircraft carrier...
.
- Tier III: Medium Range Tactical UAV. Role currently filled by the RQ-5A / MQ-5A/B Hunter and i-Gnat, but transitioning to the Extended Range Multi-Purpose (ERMP) MQ-1C Warrior
The General Atomics MQ-1C Warrior is an Extended-Range Multi-Purpose unmanned aerial vehicle under development by General Atomics , funded by United States Army. It is an upgrade of the MQ-1 Predator.-Development:The U.S...
.
Future Combat SystemsFuture Combat Systems was the United States Army's principal modernization program from 2003 to 2009. Formally launched in 2003, FCS was envisioned to create new brigades equipped with new manned and unmanned vehicles linked by an unprecedented fast and flexible battlefield network and aided by...
(FCS) (US Army) classes
- Class I: For small units. Role to be filled by all new UAV with some similarity to Micro Air Vehicle
The term micro air vehicle or micro aerial vehicle refers to a type of unmanned air vehicle that is remotely controlled. Today's MAVs are significantly smaller than those previously developed, with target dimensions reaching a maximum of approximately 15 centimetres . Development of insect-size...
.
- Class II: For companies. (cancelled.) http://www.defensetech.org/archives/cat_fcs_watch.html
- Class III: For battalions. (cancelled.) http://www.defensetech.org/archives/cat_fcs_watch.html
- Class IV: For brigades. Role to be filled by the RQ-8A/B / MQ-8B Fire Scout.