Adversary Aircraft – Uncrewed

The Commander, Air Combat Command (ACC), views ADAIR-UX as an opportunity to improve in-flight training for Combat Air Force fighter aircrew by increasing the quantity and quality of adversary air platforms. Simultaneously, this program will advance the technical maturation of ACPs while building aircrew trust in this class of vehicle. ADAIR-UX will also usher in an era of decreased fuel consumption and carbon emissions, as we seek to maximize credible high-end live-fly training while minimizing our impact on the budget and the environment.

ADAIR-UX is not just an air vehicle; it will be a synergy of six capability areas: the physical vehicle, missionized sensors and payloads, datalinks and computing, human-machine interface, autonomy, and “DOTmLPF-P” (Doctrine, Organization, Training, materiel, Leadership/Education, Personnel, Facilities, and Policy). To this end, ACC is requesting industry engagement to help government understand industry’s “art of the possible” in terms of an uncrewed, semi-autonomous, tactically-sized platform which can credibly replicate the capabilities of our pacing threats.

This announcement will establish an initial list of vendors who will be individually provided with a submission template to inform the government of their potential offerings in support of the technical areas described below. Upon receiving all the returned templates, ACC will convene a technical and security review to nominate a subset of vendors to receive a copy of the Rapid Prototyping Requirements Document (RPRD) for ADAIR-UX, which is meant to help those vendors refine their initial submission for a subsequent and more fully informed project concept. ACC will convene a second round of vetting, resulting in a set of invitations to present project concepts in-person to a government team at Langley AFB, VA currently planned for October 2022. The information provided to the government in this engagement will help inform our strategy for prototyping the ADAIR-UX capability in cooperation with the Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation Office.

This 2022 TIM engagement has broad goals to increase awareness, stimulate collaboration, and seek alignment between industry’s Independent Research & Development (IR&D) innovation investments and DAF’s high-priority science and technology needs and corresponding acquisition sustainment roadmaps. Senior-level, top-notch Subject Matter Experts (SMEs) from the AF are expected to participate, representing the AF Futures team at Air Staff, Air Combat Command, the AF Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC), the AF Research Lab (AFRL) and several other agencies.

Shown here are some high-level depictions of ADAIR-UX taxonomies.

For your situational awareness, we have developed high level schedule milestones to affect good deliberate planning for a potentially fruitful engagement at event week.

Please note dates listed are subject to change.

Thank you for viewing this announcement. We look forward to your favorable consideration to engage in this exciting government-industry technology dialogue!