Logistics And Medical Runs Validate Safe Controlled-Airspace UAS Flights

Skyways, developer of long-range autonomous cargo UAS systems, announced the successful completion of a series of cargo flights between two airports under Project ULTRA (UAS Logistics, Traffic, Response, and Autonomy), a DoD initiative to advance visual line of sight, or BVLOS drone logistics.

Skyways was the only UAS provider at the event, and the company conducted a series of cargo drone flights between airports for the U.S. military to validate how unmanned aircraft can safely fly in controlled airspace.

Andrew Fung, lead Flight Test Engineer at ULTRA for Skyways said, “We proved what it takes to operate autonomous cargo aircraft in controlled airspace, under real FAA oversight. Skyways is flying at high altitudes, maintaining contact with air traffic control, and navigating in the same environment as manned aircraft. That level of integration is what will unlock true long-range drone logistics at national scale.”

Project ULTRA built on technology developed for the U.S. Navy’s Blue Water logistics UAS program. The Navy project is led by the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, and its goal is to enable autonomous cargo transport between ships at sea in challenging maritime environments, as well as between ships ashore.

Skyways was selected for ULTRA because of its technical maturity and previous success in demonstrating Long-range logistics capabilities to the Navy and Air Force.

Over 12 days, Skyways executed all required flight demonstrations to deliver meaningful payloads across significant distances in controlled airspace. It also completed a temperature-controlled blood delivery using its proprietary technology that maintains cargo at ~4^o C during flight.

This exercise marked the first demonstration of the V3 Block 1, flying BVLOS in the national airspace system and included an unplanned emergency landing that was concluded successfully.

FMI:  www.skyways.com/