WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army has chosen AeroVironment’s Jump 20 unmanned aircraft system to be the first Future Tactical UAS, an effort to replace the runway-dependent Shadow unmanned system.

The $8 million contract announced Thursday will pay for one system, which includes six air vehicles, ground data terminals and ground control stations, according to the Army. The system will go to a single Brigade Combat Team.

“Based upon the results of testing, Army leadership may decide to procure and field up to seven additional [Increment 1] systems,” the service added in a statement.

This initial purchase is meant to inform requirements for a second program increment, which will rely on “a separate competitive acquisition,” the statement noted.

In 2018, the Army began considering requirements for a replacement for the Textron-manufactured Shadow UAS. This unmanned system is widely used, but is one of the most accident-prone unmanned aerial systems in the service’s inventory, is difficult to deploy and has a loud engine, making it easily detected.

In 2019, the service narrowed the pool to two competitors: Martin UAV and the team of Northrop Grumman and Textron’s AAI. Martin UAV supplied its V-Bat system, while the Northrop-Textron team offered Textron’s Aerosonde HQ.

Shortly after, the Army added two more aircraft for evaluation: Arcturus UAV’s Jump 20 system and L3Harris Technologies’ FVR-90.

For about a year, operational units evaluated the four different tactical unmanned aerial systems, culminating in a rodeo in spring 2021 at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Last year, AeroVironment acquired Arcturus for $405 million.

“AeroVironment met performance requirements while offering high technology and manufacturing readiness levels, thereby reducing the need for additional development,” the service said in Thursday’s statement.

Already, the Army is preparing for the second increment of the program. Nearly a year ago, it released a request for white papers for this next part of the competition.

Martin UAV, which has since been acquired by Shield AI, has said it plans to submit a new and improved V-Bat that was not available at the time of the previous soldier evaluation process.

Volansi and Sierra Nevada Corp. also said earlier this year they plan to compete for the second increment.

Maj. Gen. Wally Rugen, who oversees the Army’s Future Vertical Lift modernization, said at the 2021 rodeo he wants the Army to get a revolutionary, not evolutionary, new tactical UAS capability that isn’t tied to a runway, has a lower acoustic signature and has far lower equipment requirements to transport the system.

Jen Judson is the land warfare reporter for Defense News. She has covered defense in the Washington area for 10 years. She was previously a reporter at Politico and Inside Defense. She won the National Press Club's best analytical reporting award in 2014 and was named the Defense Media Awards' best young defense journalist in 2018.