Quick decision context for procurement relevance and maturity.
The Department of the Army is procuring $7.4 million in development services from the National Center for Defense Manufacturing and Machining (NCDMM) under Task Order W31P4Q23F0009 to advance liquid hydrogen autonomous refueling systems for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This work supports the EXTEND™ Energy and Power System development, which enables long-duration (20 hours) and long-range (1,000 miles) flight operations for Group 2 UAVs weighing less than 55 lbs, with applications across both military and commercial sectors. The strategic context involves leveraging advanced manufacturing techniques to create pilot production facilities and ground support equipment that can be replicated across regional airports and military bases to support the projected $130 billion UAV market growth over the next decade.
https://www.usaspending.gov/award/CONT_AWD_W31P4Q23F0199_9700_W31P4Q21D0026_9700