Air Force solicits industry input on aircraft ground tracking

Air Force officials want to learn about technology that makes it possible for aircraft to remotely tag and track vehicles on the ground, according to a solicitation posted on FedBizOpps.gov yesterday.

The Air Force’s Air Armament Center Capabilities Integration Directorate Division wants information from industry about developing the technology and wants mature technology so it can be implemented quickly.

The technology should make it possible to apply tags to a variety of vehicles from aircraft that are 3 kilometers or more away from a target, and the tags should be capable of being sensed and tracked for at least a few hours. Eventually, Air Force officials want the tags to last for a few days, according to the announcement. 

Ideally the tags would be inconspicuous, but could be readily detected with a sensor. “In general, less obvious tags are better,” the solicitation states.

The ideal tags would let trackers distinguish among multiple similar vehicles with tags, and the tags should include a time stamp or expiration feature, making it possible to know the age of a tag under observation.

The tagging system must also be capable of being installed on a propeller-driven unmanned aerial vehicle.

Those submitting information should indicate if the technology will be available in the next few months for a ground demonstration, the Air Force said.