Nifty Little Cargo Drone Takes Flight

The US Marine Corps’ latest toy is coming along nicely in the form of Kaman Corporation's latest autonomous delivery vehicle, the KARGO UAV.

The platform just had its first successful flight test, proving its mettle as a medium-lift multi rotor drone that can be airdropped from afar in order to resupply far-flung units. The KARGO looks much like an upscaled civilian drone sporting 4 arms and rotors with a stubby but streamlined fuselage to carry its components. An underslung cargo pod provides about 800 pounds of payload accessible from the ground. Kaman says the full package is good for a 121-knot top speed, a ceiling of 10,000 feet, and a 500-nautical mile range. For packages that can't fit into its modestly sized cargo pod, the KARGO can even take a sling load, automatically compensating for the change in weight and balance with its onboard compute power.

Even better, the whole package fits into a standard Conex container. That makes logistics a breeze, fully interchangeable with a whole host of civilian infrastructure, in addition to being small enough to be managed by a pair of techs out in the field. That capability intrigued the USMC, coming at just the right time in their pivot to the hypothetical Pacific Theater. The KARGO hits the spot for a Corps looking for nimble, adaptable, light logistics platforms, and they're excited to see its progress in the development process.

“It is difficult to describe the sense of satisfaction one feels when watching an aircraft take flight for the first time, and very few people get the opportunity to participate in something like this,” said Romin Dasmalchi, General Manager of KARGO UAV. “This team worked hard to get here, and the intensity continues as we look to move from prototyping to production."

FMI: www.kaman.com