A business case analysis for the Vulture program
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Authors
Fry, Jered N.
Tutaj, Steven E.
Subjects
Vulture
High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE)
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)
solar-powered
Business Case Analysis (BCA);
High Altitude Long Endurance (HALE)
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV)
solar-powered
Business Case Analysis (BCA);
Advisors
Nussbaum, Daniel A.
Laverson, Alan J.
Date of Issue
2010-12
Date
December 2010
Publisher
Monterey, California. Naval Postgraduate School
Language
Abstract
The Vulture program is an initiative being developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The end goal of the Vulture program is to develop a high altitude long endurance (HALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is capable of maintaining a 1,000-pound payload on station for five years. The DARPA goals for the Vulture program include, at a minimum, the development and demonstration of advanced reliability technologies for the proposed future Vulture system. It is envisioned that Vulture will provide affordable, persistent coverage over an area of interest for surveillance and communications relay missions. The purpose of this study is to estimate the potential cost savings and identify other benefits associated with the potential operational use of Vulture. This study conducts a business case analysis (BCA) comparing the estimated costs of the Vulture program to those of the Global Hawk and Global Observer systems. Sensitivity analyses are performed on the cost variables, as well as a general risk assessment for Vulture.
Type
Thesis
Description
MBA Professional Report
Series/Report No
Department
Business Administration
Organization
Department of Defense Management (DDM)
Identifiers
NPS Report Number
Sponsors
Funder
Format
xvi, 67 p. : ill. (1 col. map) ; 28 cm.
Citation
Distribution Statement
Rights
This publication is a work of the U.S. Government as defined in Title 17, United States Code, Section 101. Copyright protection is not available for this work in the United States.