Lockheed Martin And Kaman Aerospace Demonstrate Unmanned Supply Helicopter To US Army

Lockheed Martin and Kaman Aerospace Corporation have demonstrated to the U.S. Army and Marine Corps the feasibility of transporting supplies to ground troops by an unmanned helicopter.

During 45 minutes of operation at Ft. Eustis, VA, an unmanned K-MAX® helicopter demonstrated autonomous take-off and landing, pick-up and delivery of a 3,000-pound sling load, and the ability to autonomously re-plan and detour from its designated route to accommodate changes to mission requirements and battlefield threats.

The demonstration also illustrated the ability of a single ground operator to use both spoken and data commands to control the aircraft via data link, perform precision maneuvers at the pick-up or drop zones, and easily transfer control to another ground operator for maximum interoperability.

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