Since 2000, the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD) has been publishing a 25-year road map for unmanned systems (UMS) on a regular basis. Inclusive of the 2009 edition, these road maps evolved to include an ever-growing list of DOD UMS.
With the rapid development and increased acquisition of UMS over the last decade, these road map catalogs provided a useful but quickly outdated snapshot of DOD UMS, encompassing unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), unmanned ground vehicles, and unmanned maritime systems.
The Unmanned Warfare directorate in the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (USD (AT&L)) recognized the need for timely updates to the UMS database and modified the road map format by extracting the UMS catalog portion into an easily accessible database.
This new online catalog database, launched in conjunction with the 2011 Unmanned System Integrated Roadmap, is now part of the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center Unmanned Warfare Information Repository (UWIR).
The UWIR, which is accessible using a Common Access Card, is at https://extranet.acq.osd.mil/uwir. It is a one-stop shop for all things unmanned, including UAS Task Force information, road maps, references, and summary charts. The site allows for quick and easy comparisons, analysis, and reporting on many variables across all of the systems of an unmanned domain. For example, a user can quickly review engine performance and manufacturer information for all UAS. The individual system pages are extensive, including system information, background, design parameters, performance, attributes, and images.
“This new catalog is a great resource for providing detailed system capabilities to the broader defense community, all at a single location,” said David Ahern, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategic and Tactical Systems. The catalog, maintained by the OSD Unmanned Warfare directorate, is slated to become the authoritative source for unmanned system data.
For more information, send an email to UWcatalog@osd.mil or go to https://extranet.acq.osd.mil/uwir/.
An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) crew with the 82nd Airborne Division’s 1st Brigade Combat Team wheels out a Shadow 200 UAV for a June 7 flight at Forward Operating Base Warrior, Ghazni province, Afghanistan. The crew is assigned to 1st Brigade Special Troops Battalion. (Photo by SGT Mike MacLeod)
- —USD (AT&L) Staff
