Detail

The Army announced it will terminate the Future Attack and Reconnaissance Aircraft Program (FARA) at the end of this fiscal year, after already spending $2 billion. It will redirect the funds to other projects, including drone programs that have been the focus of defense agencies around the world for the past two years. The main reason for this popularity is their role in the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Clearly, the U.S. Army and other armed forces have been using large industrially produced UAVs like the Predator for reconnaissance, surveillance, and attack purposes for years. But Ukraine’s unexpected and surprisingly successful reuse of smaller drones to fight Russian invaders has captured attention and captured the imagination of defense establishments around the world.
– writes journalist Bruce Crumley.

Chief of Staff of the US Army, General Randy George, directly points to the connection between the suspension of FARA development and the desire to expand work in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles. “What we have learned on the battlefield – particularly in Ukraine – is that aerial reconnaissance has fundamentally changed. Sensors and weapons mounted on a variety of unmanned systems and in space are more ubiquitous, longer-range and cheaper than ever. “I am confident that the Joint Force can fulfill its mission both in the priority area and around the world by accelerating the innovation, procurement and deployment of modern unmanned aerial systems, including Launched Effects systems and commercial small (unmanned) aviation systems.”says the general.

Although large unmanned aerial vehicles such as Bayraktar and Shaheed make a tangible contribution to Ukraine and the invaders, experts state the following: “Smaller, redesigned commercial UAVs, homemade first-person attack aircraft or specialized kamikaze vehicles have changed the game”namely FPV drones. Therefore, it is likely that this direction will become one of the priorities in the future work of the US Army.

Last August, the Pentagon announced the launch of the Replicator program, which relies on smaller UAVs mass-produced in huge, expendable swarms to destroy the weapons of Russia, China, North Korea and other potential enemies.