US Army launches FALCONS programme

A US soldier with 1st Battalion, 41st Infantry Regiment, 2nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division, operating the LRAS3 along the US-Mexico border. (US Army )

The US Army has launched its Future Advanced Long-range Common Optical/Netted-fires Sensor (FALCONS) programme, which once mature will replace the ground service's legacy Long Range Advanced Scout Surveillance System (LRAS3), service officials said in August.

Programme officials from the army's Product Manager Ground Sensors (PM GS), which is spearheading the development effort, signed three separate Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreements in August for Phase 0 work on the FALCONS initiative, according to the officials. Phase 0 work will consist of research and development efforts to construct viable prototypes of the FALCONS system, the officials said in a statement at the time.

Each OTA industry partner, which includes Leonardo DRS, Elbit Systems of America, and QinetiQ, will receive USD2 million as part of the Phase 0 FALCONS prototype contract, which is anticipated to last for 12 months, programme officials said in the statement. The entire FALCONS development effort is expected to progress across four separate phases, with OTA awards being issued for each phase.

The entire prototype development initiative is scheduled to last over 54 months in total, programme officials said in the August statement.

Phase 0, specifically, will consist of “technology maturity assessments, preliminary system model development, system specification review, and soldier feedback opportunities” of FALCONS' prototype technologies, programme officials said.

A phased approach to the FALCONS development will “set the conditions for a prototype development phase that will maximise competition” for the overall programme, said US Army Lieutenant Colonel Ryan Welch, product manager for Ground Sensors.