Massive Robotic Surveillance to Fill Skys Above

The Navy Wednesday gave a large audience of defense contractors details on what might be a multibillion dollar contract for an unmanned air reconnaissance system that would require scores of sophisticated flying drones, an array of high-technology sensors and communications systems and the associated ground control and data-receiving stations. At a briefing near the Patuxent River Naval Air Station in southern Maryland, senior Navy officers and defense officials described the requirements and schedule for a major program called the Broad Area Maritime Surveillance system to more than 200 aerospace industry representatives. "BAMS is a huge undertaking" that presents "tremendous growth opportunities" for the aerospace industry, said Vice Adm. Walter Massenburg, commander of the Naval Air Systems Command. Massenburg emphasized that what they wanted was not just an unmanned vehicle but an unmanned aerial system capable of providing persistent maritime surveillance and data collection.