Air Force Looks to Commercial Solutions for Uncrewed Cargo Use

Reliable Robotics announced its receipt of a large United States Air Force contract for the automation of large, multi-engine jets.

The contract will not yet result in completed, flight-ready aircraft, but will pursue a feasibility assessment of full and limited aircraft automation features for cargo operations. The force believes that remotely piloted aircraft will enable a greatly increased mission tempo worldwide at a lower price point than traditional crewed aircraft. Coinciding with those cost savings, the Force sees Reliable Robotics as a credible, certifiable commercial solution that saves tremendous time and money compared to developing such tech in-house.

“Headquarters Air Force Mobility Functional Integration Team supports the efforts of Reliable Robotics and the development of their aircraft automation systems. Reliable provides capabilities that will help close logistical gaps so that the United States Air Force can execute their role within the Joint Warfighting Concept,” said Col. Sean R. McClune, of the United States Air Force. “We are interested in Reliable Robotics not only for their effectiveness in supporting the warfighter in Contested Logistics but also for their novel approach of outfitting legacy aircraft with cutting-edge automation kits. This is of great value to the U.S. Government because it will help solve the demand of short to medium range point-to-point logistics without the need to manufacture new aircraft, which will ensure critical logistics are available at speed and scale to all regions of the country.”

Reliable Robotics has been hard at work on their certifiable system, allowing continuous autopilot engagement through all phases of flight, including taxi, takeoff and landing. While the "automated" aircraft does not need to be physically flown by a pilot, current builds for the firm's demonstrators operate under the watchful gaze of a remote pilot supervising operations.

“We value the Air Force as an essential mission partner,” said Dr. David O’Brien, Major General (Retired), and Senior Vice President of Government Solutions at Reliable Robotics. “Our vision is to provide remote piloting capability to a wide variety of aircraft. This contract furthers our focus on automation of large, multi-engine jet aircraft, which is an important step in our developmental roadmap.”

FMI: www.reliable.co