The United States Air Force, via the Department of Defense, has announced its intention to award a sole source contract to the Alaska Center for UAS Integration (ACUASI) for counter-small uncrewed aerial system (C-sUAS) Red Team assessment services for the 354th Contracting Squadron at Eielson Air Force Base (AFB) in Alaska. The AFB is a ‘no drone zone’.
The notice was posted on the United States’ official government procurement e-platform SAM.gov. Responses to the notice can be submitted by September 8.
A July 2024 Eielson AFB Performance Work Statement notes that the contractor “will purchase, build and/or modify a minimum of 36 sUAS for red teaming”. These will include six different sUAS, both quadcopter and fixed-wing and each individual aircraft type must have a minimum of six variations or modifications. The statement adds that the contractor will be responsible for reviewing all airspace approvals and sUAS flight waivers necessary. The contractor will also be responsible for data collection from assessment events, which will include three pilots flying up to three sUAS at a time for a total of 60 hours over five days, where feasible. Assessment reports from each event will include success and failure statistics broken down by C-sUAS platform.
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Image: US Air Force Tech. Sgt. Derek Matteson, 354th Security Forces Squadron C-sUAS NCO in charge, and Gary Olson, 354th SFS C-sUAS plans and programs chief, conduct a drone test on March 20, 2024 at Eielson Air Force Base, Alaska. Eielson AFB was selected by Pacific Air Forces command as the testing base for this technology. (US Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Danielle Sukhlall)
