Congress wants Navy to beef-up offensive strike capabilities of UCLASS unmanned aircraft

It's no secret that the U.S. Navy's project to develop a carrier-based fighting drone is in trouble. Navy leaders have criticized how the unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) program has evolved for its lightweight strike capability.

Carrier air group commanders want an unmanned bomber on the flight deck, not just a new reconnaissance drone, and tight budgets have forced program managers to cut out a lot of air-to-ground capability, rendering UCLASS essentially a carrier-based surveillance platform.

Now Congress is starting to get involved, where lawmakers are voicing similar concerns. Instead of a stealthy deep-penetrating strike aircraft as originally conceived, Navy program managers reportedly have changed UCLASS requirements to conduct intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions over uncontested airspace with only a light secondary strike capability.

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