Strategic Collaboration in Government Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Contracts

In May 2018, the U.S. Department of the Interior awarded a contract to four U.S. companies to provide unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) services. Worth up to $17 million, the contract enabled the Interior to use contractor-operated UAVs to support activities such as firefighting, search and rescue and emergency management. 

Since then, government agencies have continued to embrace UAVs as they seek to make dangerous missions safer. Not surprisingly, the world’s military forces are leading the way. According to a study by Fortune Business Insights, the global military UAV market is projected to grow from $14.14 billion in 2023 to $35.60 billion by 2030. Meanwhile, non-military government agencies continue to use drones for activities such as surveying and mapping, emergency response, medical supply delivery and agriculture and wildlife conservation.  

Contracting firms recognize the opportunity that lies before them. Some firms have begun to collaborate with government agencies to develop and test drone technologies tailored to their specific use cases. For example, NASA has collaborated with Joby Aviation to test Joby’s air taxi for potential uses in national airspace. And the U.S. Air Force is working with Joby under the Agility Prime program to research military applications for the air taxi.

Governments, for their part, are facilitating public-private partnerships to encourage UAV development and work towards consistent regulations worldwide. For example, India's Drone Alliance initiative brings together government bodies and industry stakeholders to help ensure responsible use of UAVs. 

Why UAV Manufacturers Should Also Collaborate with IT Firms

Although it’s good to see UAV manufacturers working closely with government agencies for mutual benefit, the collaboration shouldn’t stop there. Vehicle manufacturers can also partner with IT firms to incorporate advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), Internet of Things (IoT) and cybersecurity into their UAVs. By collaborating with IT firms, UAV manufacturers can build more secure, intelligent and connected drone systems that meet government clients’ highest standards of cybersecurity, performance and operational capabilities.

Maximize cybersecurity

Gone are the days when a UAV was just another disconnected piece of equipment. Many of today’s UAVs are highly connected devices that operate over networks. As a result, they’re just as vulnerable as our laptops to cyber threats such as data breaches and malicious attacks. 

IT firms that specialize in cybersecurity can help develop robust security frameworks tailored for UAV systems. Working with cybersecurity experts, UAV manufacturers can protect their drones by implementing advanced encryption protocols, secure communication channels, access control mechanisms and intrusion detection systems.

Optimize UAV performance

One of the main goals of deploying UAVs is to let machines do what’s risky or even impossible for humans to do. But government clients continue to demand more powerful capabilities from their UAVs. You can dramatically improve the performance of your UAVs by collaborating with IT firms to integrate AI and IoT technology. 

• By integrating AI, you can add advanced capabilities such as autonomous flight, obstacle avoidance, image recognition and intelligent decision-making. 
• Adding IoT technologies to your UAV design enables you to make your machine part of a connected system. From there, you can monitor its performance remotely, exchange data with it and coordinate its operations with other pieces of equipment. 
• When you combine AI and IoT, you can perform predictive maintenance, optimize routes and allocate resources efficiently across a UAV fleet. 

Enhance UAV operations

By collaborating with IT firms, UAV manufacturers can do more than increase the security and performance of their products. They can also help keep their firms from falling behind the competition. 

Partnerships with IT firms can give UAV manufacturers access to diverse talent pools filled with innovators who can contribute new ideas for product improvement. IT firms can also help UAV designers keep up with evolving IT standards and develop their vehicles in ways that ensure painless integration of UAV software and interfaces. 

Scenario: UAV and IT collaboration in action

How might a UAV manufacturer collaborate with an IT firm? Suppose ABC Drones wants to develop more advanced autonomous navigation capabilities for its next generation of UAVs. ABC’s current systems rely on GPS and basic obstacle avoidance, but the company wants to enable truly intelligent navigation by incorporating computer vision, machine learning (ML) and AI. 

ABC partners with XYZ Consulting, an IT firm that specializes in AI, ML and computer vision solutions. Here’s what happens next:

1. Engineers from both companies share knowledge. ABC Drones provides insights into UAV design, aerodynamics and existing navigation systems. XYZ shares expertise in AI and ML model development, training data requirements and computer vision algorithms.
2. The teams jointly devise a data collection plan to gather diverse training data for ML models. They decided to use ABC Drones' existing UAVs equipped with cameras to capture images and videos of different environments, obstacles and terrain under varying conditions.
3. XYZ's data scientists and AI engineers use the collected data to develop and train deep learning models for object detection, terrain mapping, path planning and obstacle avoidance. 
4. ABC’s software engineers work closely with XYZ to integrate the trained AI and ML models into their UAV navigation systems. 
5. It’s time to test the enhanced navigation system. Testing happens in simulated and real-world environments to validate performance, safety and reliability. XYZ develops rigorous testing protocols based on its expertise in testing AI systems.
6. The partnership continues even after the product launches. ABC Drones provides operational data from its UAV fleet to refine and improve XYZ’s AI navigation models.

Five Ways Government Subcontractors Can Enhance UAV Projects

What’s the role of government subcontractors in UAV contracts? How can they work with UAV manufacturers and IT firms to add value to projects and increase overall product quality? Here are five ways:

1. Providing specialized subsystems and components.
   Subcontractors can often contribute propellers, motors, electronic speed controllers, batteries, flight controllers, telemetry systems, GPS modules and safety mechanisms.
2. Integrating advanced technologies. Level up your technology by partnering with subcontractors that have expertise in computer vision, AI, ML or sensor fusion. They can enhance your drones with intelligent navigation, obstacle avoidance, automated flight planning and processing of data from advanced payloads.
3. Developing specialized software. Software subcontractors can develop flight control software, ground control station software, data processing and photogrammetry software tailored for UAVs. This software will help you plan missions, maintain real-time control over drones and extract valuable insights from the data your UAVs collect.
4. Manufacturing airframes and structures. Want to add high-performance airframes, wings or structural components to your UAVs? Look for subcontractors that specialize in aerodynamic design and precision manufacturing.
5. Providing specialized payloads. Enhance your UAVs with advanced inspection, monitoring and surveying capabilities by engaging subcontractors to integrate thermal cameras, gas sensors, hyperspectral imaging systems or light detection and ranging (LiDAR) systems.

If you’re looking for a real-world example of how subcontractors can help UAV manufacturers succeed, consider the Global Hawk UAV project conducted by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD). During Phase I of the program, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded contracts to five teams, each of which included a prime contractor and several subcontractors.

Each team received up to $4 million to develop concept designs and demonstrate the feasibility of their proposed UAV systems. Subcontractors played crucial roles by providing specialized expertise and components. For example:

• Westinghouse Electric contributed specialized subsystems such as propulsion, avionics and control systems.
• Lockheed Advanced Development provided aerodynamic design and structural components.
• E-Systems developed the critical Common Ground System (CGS) for command, control and data processing.

Maximize Synergy Between Operations Designers & Industrial Designers

As you work to foster collaboration across teams, don’t overlook the need for synergies between ops and industrial designers in UAV contracts. Here are some specific tasks in which these two roles can complement each other to drive better UAV design: 

• Defining mission requirements. Operations designers should define critical mission parameters such as payload, endurance, altitude, speed and stealth requirements. These parameters will set design constraints and objectives for industrial designers.
• Conceptual design exploration. Using the mission parameters, industrial designers can then explore various UAV configurations and sizing options.
• Design trade-off studies. The teams should jointly evaluate how different design choices will impact mission capabilities. 
• Prototype development and testing. Industrial designers develop prototypes that fit the specifications. Operations designers then test these prototypes in simulated mission scenarios.
• Human factors integration. Based on inputs from operations designers, industrial designers optimize human-UAV interfaces such as cockpits, control systems and ground stations. 
• Design iteration. Based on prototype testing, both teams refine the design to support mission goals within operational constraints.
• Manufacturing and deployment planning. Both teams ensure that the design meets manufacturing requirements and will be usable for the intended missions.

Three More Strategic Collaborations for UAV Manufacturers

Your UAV company can form many more partnerships that help you deliver better products to meet specific real-world use cases. You can: 

• Partner with academia for research and development. By leveraging academic expertise and resources, you can conduct fundamental research, test new concepts and develop more innovative UAV solutions.
• Partner with logistics companies for deployment. For example, you could work with industry leaders such as UPS, FedEx or DHL to develop and test UAV platforms tailored for delivery applications. 
• Partner with government agencies for regulatory compliance. Regulatory bodies can provide you with key information about certification requirements and airworthiness standards.

Strategic partnerships are driving breakthroughs in UAV technology and operational deployment. One recent example is the work between FlytBase—a drone autonomy software provider—and DroneDeploy, the maker of an aerial reality capture and data processing platform. 

Together, the companies enabled a unified end-to-end workflow for autonomous drone operations. FlytBase combined its capabilities in beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) operations, dynamic route planning and regulatory compliance with DroneDeploy's expertise in data capture, processing and analysis. The result? Customers can now automate the entire UAV workflow from mission planning to data insights.

For Optimal UAV Collaboration, Consider Deltek + ProPricer Solutions 

Collaborations between manufacturers and IT firms in UAV contracts are always easier when you’re using the right technology. Consider leveraging Deltek solutions for optimal UAV collaboration:

Deltek GovWin IQ gives you early access to upcoming UAV-related government contracts. From there, it helps you network and use powerful market intelligence to increase your chances of landing contracts and collaborating with complementary primes or subs. 

ProPricer Contractor Edition is designed to help you produce higher-quality proposals in less time. It can streamline all stages of contract management, from cost estimation to submission to iteration to approval.  

Want to learn more about strategic collaboration in government UAV contracts? We highly recommend a white paper that covers partnership opportunities for aerial cybersecurity contracts.