UVision’s Hero-120 loitering munition on display. (UVision)

AUSA 2024 — As he prepares to attend his first AUSA event as CEO of loitering munition specialist firm UVision, Ran Gozali says his company is looking to expand its footprint across larger, conventional forces, including the US Army.

Speaking from Israel on the “Memorial Day” of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, Gozali added that his vision of the company also includes transitioning from “single loitering munitions towards autonomous, multi-launch arrays.”

Today, UVision supplies undisclosed special operations units and armed forces around the world with loitering munitions from across its family of products, including the Hero 30, 120 and 400 systems.

But as Gozali explained to Breaking Defense, the company is now focused on landing a sizeable chunk of the US Army’s upcoming Low Altitude Stalking and Strike Ordnance (LASSO) program of record, which is expected to publish a request for proposals early next year.

According to the US Army’s Program Executive Office (PEO) Soldier, LASSO comprises a “man-portable, tube launched, lethal payload munition, unmanned aerial system” which includes “electrical optical /infrared sensor, precision flight control, and the ability to fly, track and engage non-line-of-sight targets and armored vehicles with precision lethal fires.”

LASSO will feature three modules, including launch tube, uncrewed aerial system and fire control station, PEO documents added.

To better target the US Army, Gozali said, his firm has developed strategic partnerships with SAIC and Mistral, while going through an “Americanization” process which ensures manufacturing and certain intellectual property remain in the US. The company is now “focused on LASSO,” for which it is offering its Hero 90 design. The company is also seeking to “Americanize” its Hero 400 design for future competitions.

A few years ago, loitering munitions were a niche capability. But the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict, followed by Ukraine and then the war in Gaza, means the capability is now front-and-center — with firms like UVision able to see their systems used in real-world scenarios and then incorporate that feedback.

“Everything is changing,” Goazli said. “Loitering munitions are the next big thing but they have to be very, very fast and very accurate, smart and connecting to a variety of intelligence-gathering systems.

“The operators of FPVs [first person view drones] are excellent but what we have learned from Ukraine is that you must reduce the burden from the operator on the battlefield. You need to simplify mission execution by the soldier.”

This approach, Gozali explained, factors into another offering from the company: an advanced autonomy system based on a 20-ft containerized solution, featuring a command and control module and 24 launch canisters each equipped with a Hero 120.

Capable of being deployed onboard a tactical ground vehicle or surface ship, the containerized system will allow operators to receive targeting data from a variety of sources including uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) and the DoD’s Tactical Assault Kit (TAK) battle management system to “simultaneously launch multiple loitering munitions towards various targets,” Gozali said.

“This is a full end-to-end weapon system with a lot of firepower, capable of prosecuting 10 targets simultaneously,” Gozali continued to explain before highlighting the solution’s open architecture and ability to autonomously support mid-course navigation of loitering munitions in GPS-denied environments.

“This is all about having the operator on-the-loop, and not in-the-loop, for more accurate and effective mission execution,” he added.

Gozali said the containerized solution could be applied to any member of the Hero family, including the Hero 400 which has a maximum range of 150km, although initial focus at AUSA will continue to concentrate on the Hero 120.

“We have conducted a demonstration of the container on a surface ship which allows greater firepower for surface to land and surface to surface engagements,” he claimed, although he was unable to provide details.

AUSA is set to witness a variety of loitering munition solutions this year. Anduril has finally unveiled its Bolt-M solution which is already under contract with the US Marine Corps as part of its consideration of an Organic Fire Precision-Lite (OPF-L) capability.

The Bolt-M, which has an endurance of 40 minutes and maximum range of 20km, received a system development contract in April to support OPF-L alongside offerings from Teledyne FLIR and Aerovironment.

The OPF-L program is worth up to $249 million and is expected to run for eight years as the USMC seeks to provide dismounted personnel with “precision strike capability against adversaries beyond the line of sight.”

Also at AUSA, Teledyne FLIR plans to present a “six-pack”’ tube launcher for its Rogue 1 loitering munition, integrated on board the M3 RCV-Light. A company spokesperson informed Breaking Defense it remained a “technology concept for extending uncrewed precision strike capability on the battlefield.”