Unmanned Carrier - Launched Surveillance and Strike program The United States Navy Unmanned Carrier - Launched Surveillance and Strike ( UCLASS ) program is to develop an aircraft carrier - based unmanned aerial vehicle to provide an unmanned intelligence and strike asset to the fleet . Competitors . The UCLASS program currently has several competing designs and design bases : Development . In June 2013 , the USN released RFPs to the four competitors . The RFPs were individualized for each company , so the exact specifications were publically unknown . The RFPs were originally supposed to be issued in late 2012 , but were delayed several times . Submissions were due in early July . The Navy expected to release a draft RFP for the technology development phase in August 2013 , with a final version expected in 2014 . The first RFP , released in June , is to mature the four designs up to a preliminary design review ( PDR ) over nine months and assess technical readiness . The following technology demonstration phase will be much more rigorous . NAVAIR hoped to have an industry day for UCLASS competitors in September 2013 . The Navy was to downselect one company and design in 2014 and begin development in 2015 . The draft RFP for technology development has been delayed from August to September 2013 . There is continuing debate over requirements and stealth . General Atomics and Boeing are expected to de - emphasize stealth in favor of endurance and payload . Northrop Grumman and Lockheed are pitching tailless high - survivability designs . Although stealth is more expensive , Lockheed says the UCLASS " needs to be a fifth - generation capability , " and that their experience with the F - 22 Raptor , F - 35 Lightning II , and RQ - 170 Sentinel provided lessons on affordability . The Navy is expected to select a cost - plus contract to minimize risk put on the contractor in development , but it is unclear how the bids will be graded . On 14 August 2013 , the Navy awarded four development contracts to Boeing , General Atomics , Lockheed Martin , and Northrop Grumman . Each contract was worth $ 15 million develop airframe designs . The preliminary design review assessment is to support the UCLASS “ to enhance aircraft carrier / air wing operations by providing a responsive , world - wide presence via an organic , sea - based unmanned aerial system , with persistent intelligence , surveillance , reconnaissance , and targeting , and strike capabilities . ” NAVAIR expects to have a competition for a final airframe design after January 2014 . The industry day will now be held in October 2013 , with the final RFP released in the second quarter of 2014 , and a vehicle selected in the first quarter of 2015 . On 26 September 2013 , the Government Accountability Office ( GAO ) issued a report calling for greater oversight over the UCLASS program . It said that the Navy was pursuing the program in a way that will limit the ability of Congress to hold it accountable for meeting goals on cost , schedule , and performance . In FY 2014 , the Navy plans to spend $ 3 . 7 billion to develop , build , and field six to 24 aircraft as an initial complement in UCLASS . However , it does not plan to initiate a key review of the program until 2020 , when the proposed aircraft would already be fielded . The Navy sees UCLASS as a technology development program . Instead of starting a formal review early on , it plans to take advantage of Defense Department flexibility to gather data so the program is ultimately successful . They say their approach conforms to requirements set forth in the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act . The GAO says work on the program goes well beyond technology development , and thus warrants oversight in relation to a major weapon system development program . The report advises Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to direct the Navy to hold the review in FY 2015 to trigger key oversight measures . It also raises problematic risks , as the $ 3 . 7 billion cost estimate exceeds the funding the Navy expects to budget for the program through 2020 . The Navy has scheduled eight months between the time it issues a request for design proposals to the time it awards a contract , a process which normally takes 12 months . The UCLASS relies on the successful development and delivery of systems and software , which creates additional schedule risk . Integrating all the systems associated with the program will require the service to manage 22 separate government systems , acting in an increased capacity that it does not routinely do . The Navy will do regular reviews and consult industry experts , but will still need to double the staff in the program office from 150 to 300 . Requirements controversy . Navy officials have expressed concern that the original requirements of the UCLASS program have been so degraded that it could be cancelled as part of budget cuts . The original concept called for a stealthy , carrier - based , long - range unmanned combat aerial system ( UCAS ) with a large payload that could be refueled in - flight . The current version calls for an UCAS that is modestly stealthy and emphasises intelligence , surveillance , and reconnaissance ( ISR ) missions over lightly contested airspace , with a light secondary strike mission . It promotes affordability , which calls for a design that is less survivable and has less endurance . Some think it is better to create an aircraft that although more expensive , adds greater capabilities to the fleet , rather than a cheaper platform that adds little . The lessened stealth capabilities and lower numbers proposed have made the program decline in worth . The office of the Chief of Naval Operations says the UCLASS will support missions in permissive and low - end contested environments , while providing enabling capabilities for high - end denied operations . Current requirements were written to fill a gap in persistent , sea - based ISR . The original concept was to evolve the X - 47B demonstrator into an operational aircraft with aerial refueling . The Joint Requirements Oversight Council dropped the air refueling requirement , reducing its flexibility . NAVAIR says although aerial refueling is not an initial requirement , it may be re - added in the future pending early operational capability performance and fleet feedback . The UCLASS was to have low - observable features , running from " marginal stealth " to F - 35 Lightning II levels . Stealth requirements have been sharply reduced to lower costs , reducing its ability to penetrate anti - access / area - denial environments . Original payload requirements called for weapons bays to carry as many as 24 GBU - 39 SDB 250 lb bombs , totaling a 6 , 000 lb weapons payload . Current requirements call for a total payload of , with only of weapons . Senior officials have denied that changes to the UCLASS requirements were made by the JROC on behalf of the White House . The JROC also does not consider the requirements to be " relaxed . " The Pentagon says that the requirements were modified by the JROC during an 18 December 2012 meeting . The UCLASS requirements were changed to consider " within the broader unmanned aircraft portfolio and included an assessment of the platform ' s performance , capability , survivability , and basing . " They claim its capabilities were not reduced , but were shifted to increase some performance areas and decrease others to get a mix . Trade - offs were made to consider the needs of fighting forces across a range of national security interests . JROC is reported to have changed the requirements in order to produce a replacement for the current drones used for Disposition Matrix missions that would not require host nation basing or permission . While the Navy ' s initial aim of creating a UAV capable of striking defended targets , the focus was changed to keep costs down and maintain unmanned counterterrorism missions as a U . S . military option . Flying missions from sea - based carriers would have fewer restrictions than operating inside foreign countries , and irregular warfare missions would continue in the future to warrant further attention . The Navy disagrees with this focus , as there are many assets that can operate in non - contested airspace with few stealthy - type penetrators , and expensive carrier forces and air wings would be used to find individual high value targets . DoD director of unmanned warfare Dyke Weatherington confirmed that the change was made because of fiscal pressures . In September 2013 , several lawmakers wrote a letter to Navy Secretary Ray Mabus to ask the service to consider a broader scope of requirements and capabilities and a wider range of mission possibilities for the UCLASS to make it an “ integral part of the Carrier Air Wing . ” The letter stated that Congress believes the narrow ISR role limits the capability growth of the system , and that it should be designed to be an integral part of the air wing and be employed in the full - spectrum of the Navy ’ s power - projection mission . The letter asks Mabus to work with the program on the technology development RFP to not focus on just one particular key performance parameter , but to enable competition and capability tradeoffs on a spectrum of attributes such as range , payload , survivability , and affordability . A more broadly scoped set of missions will allow industry the flexibility to develop a range of solutions able to meet requirements for the UCLASS in both the near - term and longer term . The main argument of the letter is for establishing broad requirements so that the platform can grow , change , and evolve over time as technologies mature . Advocates for a wider set of mission roles say it will not lessen the core ISR function , but rather add to it with additional capability . The letter from Congress also shows that they are concerned about the UCLASS acquisition strategy . The Navy ' s established plan to field four carrier air wings worth of aircraft before the completion of operational testing , or even a formal “ Milestone B ” decision to enter engineering and manufacturing development , has been described as " atypical . " Congress and industry both agree that the Navy has deviated significantly from the normal process for developing a new aircraft . Normally , industry would develop solutions over two years based on initial issued requirements . The specifications would be refined and updated as needed , based on various industry - informed trade studies . This procedure is likely to yield more relevant industry investment , more affordable requirements , and a better overall competition . For nearly three years , companies developed their candidates with company funds based on assumptions about the Navy ’ s requirements without any guidance from the service . The Navy did not issue any aircraft performance specifications or draft requirements until the spring of 2013 , so competitors are trying to refit their aircraft for the preliminary design review phase . This is requiring more company investment , which may lead contenders to drop out of bidding . The lack of feedback is compounded by the shift of mission statements , from a long - range penetrating strike platform to long - duration orbits over permissive airspace . Endurance requirements of over 12 hours is especially hard to meet , as there are limitations of an aircraft ' s wingspan for holding fuel on the confined space of an aircraft carrier . The aircraft must have a higher aspect ratio wing ( longer wingspan ) , but the maximum wingspan for the UCLASS is around to meet size and weight requirements . With aerial refueling no longer a capability , designers must make aircraft as light as possible , holding as much fuel as possible . The UCLASS must maintain two orbits around the ship , or one orbit at a range of , with the ability to attack lightly - defended targets out to . The endurance requirement is so strenuous that a turbofan engine may not be a " viable option . " Boeing and General Atomics appear to have selected a wing - body tail design , while Lockheed and Northrop Grumman have flying - wing concepts . After pressure from Congress , industry , and the GAO , the Navy is reportedly taking another look at the draft requirements for the UCLASS . They were scheduled to be released in October 2013 and now could be delayed . Industry sources say the struggles with the program are because of the budget environment . The Navy wants to run its own budget priorities , while JROC is recommending otherwise . The main reason behind the internal strife is indecision over the future of the aircraft carrier fleet and the air wings that operate from those ships . JROC and some naval officers believe the U . S . Military needs better UAV - based ISR coverage around the globe , and that the capability must be integrated on board carriers in the near - future . Examples are drawn from the French experience during Operation Serval over Mali , where they needed permission from a host nation to use their airfields to deploy unmanned assets . They feel the first priority should be to get UAV operations normalized on board carriers and get more value out of the vessels , and more capability out of the aircraft could be added later . Most others inside the Navy believe that their multi - billion dollar carriers , air wings , and accompanying strike groups have better uses . Even though a UAV ' s benefits are not essential for the service to operate , they feel any new unmanned aircraft integrated into the carrier air wing should be focused on making the carrier a more effective strike platform .