The Army is seeking commercial, vertical-takeoff-and-landing capabilities for a battalion reconnaissance unmanned aerial systems effort, according to a call for solutions released last Friday.

The service aims to provide battalion commanders and their organizations with autonomous reconnaissance, surveillance and target acquisition capability by rapidly fielding the VTOL systems, in line with the Defense Department’s drone dominance framework and the rapid proliferation of drones in recent conflicts, the notice states.

“Recent [Pentagon] guidance directs a shift to a wartime footing, demanding the acceleration of acquisition timelines and scale the industrial base to meet this evolving threat. The Battalion Reconnaissance UAS system is a critical solution to close maneuver battalions' operational reconnaissance and security gaps, which severely limits a commander’s situational awareness, decision space, freedom of maneuver, and tempo during Cross Domain Maneuver Operations,” it states.

The VTOL capabilities should be group 2, meaning they weigh less than 55 pounds, include two air vehicles with an Electro-Optical/Infrared camera and laser pointer, two ground-control stations and “ancillary equipment” that can operate at any time of day and in any type of weather. The system must also have a Modular Open Systems Approach and common payload interface to allow payloads to be rapidly installed or removed.

In order to speed up the acquisition timeline for fielding the battalion level UAS capability, the Army plans to utilize its online UAS marketplace, which it launched March 24.

In its fiscal year 2027 budget request, the Army plans to spend $726 million in procurement dollars on the family of small UAS which “provide battalion and below ground maneuver elements with critical situational awareness and enhanced force protection” in addition to reconnaissance and targeting capabilities, according to budget justification documents. The service also plans to spend $31 million in research and development dollars on the capability in FY-27.

This call for solutions for a battalion-level UAS VTOL capability is similar to another commercial solutions opening for a platoon-level UAS VTOL capability that was posted April 24.

Separately, the Army is also developing a Group 4 and above Short Vertical Takeoff and Landing (S/VTOL) UAS requirement that will be used to fill short-, medium-band long-range capability gaps in areas such as reconnaissance and surveillance. A request for proposals to support rapid prototyping of that capability is scheduled for some time in FY-26, service officials previously told Inside Defense.

-- With research support from Real Time Defense