HANGAR TALK UNMANNED News relating to unmanned aerial systems
Bell Autonomous Pod Transport 70 Achieves First BVLOS Flight
In January, the Bell APT 70 flew its first Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) flight path 10 miles at Choctaw Nation test site under the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Integration Pilot Program (UASIPP). The vehicle also completed an 18-mile flight with 60 pounds. of payload at Bell’s testing site near Fort Worth, Texas.
To date, the APT 70 flight test program has completed more than 120 flights. The program will continue to test the vehicles’ endurance and range capabilities, and expand the mission sets.
“Our partnership with Choctaw under the UASIPP has allowed us to push the boundaries on our eVTOL technology,” said John Wittmaak, program manager, UAS. “By unlocking new performance capabilities, APT 70 will provide unparalleled mission sets for our customers.”
KAMAN K-MAX® Advances Civil and Military Autonomous Flight Programs
Kaman Air Vehicles, a division of Kaman Corporation, recently announced the advancement of its military and commercial K-MAX
Unmanned Aerial
Systems (UAS) programs. Kaman continues the development of the next generation of K-MAX UAS to support U.S. Marine Corps future operating concepts. These logistics systems add flexibility and speed of distribution to all sizes of ground formations, while reducing the risk to our service men and women.
“We have a combat-proven system that sustained over 95% readiness while in the
48 Mar/Apr 2020
field. Looking ahead, the next generation aircraft will leverage advancements in unmanned technologies and will add new autonomy capabilities,” said Romin Dasmalchi, senior director of business development of the Kaman Air Vehicles division.
The first unmanned K-MAX served in Afghanistan during Operation Enduring Freedom from
2011 to 2013.
distinct advantage,” said Darlene Smith, vice president and general manager of the Kaman Air Vehicles division.
In parallel with the military K-MAX project, Kaman is developing a new K-MAX UAS kit for commercial applications with first flight scheduled in Q3 2020. Helicopter Express Inc. of Chamblee, Georgia, and Swanson Group Aviation of
Glendale, The
33-month experiment saved numerous lives and proved the concept and value of unmanned aerial logistics. The two USMC K-MAX air vehicles are being upgraded through a contract with the U.S. Navy and will include enhanced autonomous capabilities including a new unmanned system, ground control station, and sensor-based autonomy. “We are extremely proud that we can provide new, lifesaving systems that will directly support our deployed warfighters and give them a
Oregon, are the launch customers and have placed orders for unmanned system kits for delivery in 2021. We have also seen interest from other K-MAX operators such as ROTAK of Anchorage, Alaska, which has identified a need for autonomous helicopter operations in the remote regions of Alaska.
The new unmanned kit will be installed on existing aircraft as well as new production K-MAX helicopters.
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