US Army Awards Leidos for Manned Multi-Intelligent Airborne Systems

Leidos has been awarded a task order from the U.S. Army to integrate, test and demonstrate the three complete Airborne Reconnaissance Low-Enhanced (ARL-E) systems under the ARL-E program of record.

The single-award cost-plus fixed-fee task order has a one-year base period of performance, two nine-month options, and a total contract value of approximately $64 million if the options are exercised.

Work will be performed primarily at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md.

The ARL-E is a manned multi-intelligent airborne platform that provides a persistent capability to detect, locate, classify/identify and track surface targets in day/night, near-all-weather conditions, with a high degree of timeliness and accuracy.

Building on decades of operation and technical integration expertise on airborne systems, Leidos will integrate the previously delivered Mission Equipment Payload (MEP) onto the DHC-8 aircraft, including testing and delivery of the complete ARL-E system.

Under the option periods, Leidos will integrate the second and third MEP on ARL-E systems 2 and 3.

Work will culminate with a system demonstration and delivery of up to three complete ARL-E systems.

(Learn More. Courtesy of Leidos and YouTube)

Airborne Reconnaissance Low-Enhanced (ARL-E) Mission Equipment Payload (MEP)

The ARL-E MEP solution is a low-risk, affordable, high technology maturity multi-Intelligence aerial ISR solution that is leveraging prior Department of Defense (DoD)/US Army Quick Reaction Capability (QRC) investments and Industry Research and Development (IR&D) funding to meet the challenging needs of the warfighter.

Mike Chagnon, President, Advanced Solutions Group at Leidos
Michael (Mike) Chagnon, President, Advanced Solutions Group at Leidos

The Leidos end-to-end ARL-E MEP solution, now under a multi-year Indefinite Delivery Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract for development and host platform integration, requires only minimal development effort and is based on low-complexity designs and battle-proven, high Technology Readiness Level (TRL) subsystems.

Re-configurability is built in from the start to accommodate broad mission application for US Army, Joint and/or Coalition mission-tailored forces engaged in regional and global contingency operations and activities.

“Delivering additional ARL-E MEP systems to the Army recognizes Leidos’ success in developing the next generation of modular, mutli-INT intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance systems to meet evolving threat environment that the nation’s combat forces are facing,” said Leidos Group President Mike Chagnon.