Autonomous Unmanned Helo A Step Closer To Field Deployment
The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research Development and
Engineering Center (AMRDEC) has awarded a $2.9 million contract to
Kaman Aerospace Corporation (Kaman). The contract will be used
to develop enhanced mission capabilities for the unmanned K-MAX
helicopter, the company announced Wednesday.
“Under the contract, Kaman Helicopters will be adding
mission equipment to a test aircraft that helps elevate the
reliability of unmanned aircraft to the standards the K-MAX attains
in commercial operations,” stated Terry Fogarty, general
manager, Unmanned Aircraft Systems Product Group for Kaman
Helicopters. “While this is not a deployment contract, it
continues our efforts as we prepare for a potential opportunity for
a military deployment later this year.”
Kaman’s commercial operators boast 98-99 percent
availability rates in the harsh helicopter logging environment,
where K-MAX rotorcraft deliver 6,000 pound loads 20 to 30 times per
hour. A single K-MAX often moves more than one-million pounds of
timber in a single day, and has exceeded two-million pounds in a
single day on numerous occasions.
The 2010 Unmanned K-MAX AMRDEC program takes the next step
toward fielding a deployable system in a military environment, with
primary focus on those operations in theater. Because of the
geographically dispersed nature of the U.S. and coalition forces,
manned aviation assets are often over extended. Unmanned K-MAX
potentially provides technological solutions to supplement these
constrained assets by using a VTOL UAV to relieve manned aviation
assets from flying some missions, such as resupply, thereby
releasing invaluable manned aviation assets for more demanding
operations. These concepts address current high priority U.S. Army
Training and Doctrine Command capability gaps.
Under its own funding, Kaman is developing autonomous pick-up
technologies that will allow the Unmanned K-MAX to attach loads
without human intervention. The development will also provide for
pin-point delivery as determined by the soldier on the ground.
“This type of technology could have many uses, including
autonomous collection of retrograde after dropping off supplies,
reducing soldier exposure to enemy fire,” stated Sal
Bordonaro, president of Kaman Helicopters.
Kaman designed the K-MAX helicopter to deliver sling loads up to
6,000 pounds at sea level, and more than 4,300 pounds at 15,000
feet. Lockheed Martin’s mission management and control
systems give the K-MAX helicopter unparalleled flight autonomy in
remote environments and over large distances.
In January, Kaman and Lockheed Martin conducted a U.S. Marine
Corps demonstration where multiple loads were placed at precise
locations using sling-load delivery methods with the Unmanned
K-MAX. Kaman and Lockheed demonstrated their four-hook carousel
system during that demonstration, autonomously placing four
separate loads at four separate locations.
Kaman recently conducted 11 cargo airdrop tests from 300 feet to
400 feet above ground level, in partnership with the U.S.
Army’s Natick Soldier research, Development and
Engineering Center (NSRDEC), where Kaman again used its four-hook
carousel system, and during one flight, demonstrated four airdrops
in a single mission.