Australian unmanned systems specialist Orbital UAV announced it has signed a memorandum of understanding with Texas-based Skyways for work on a US Navy logistics unmanned air system (UAS) prototype that would be capable of braving difficult environments to deliver mission-critical components to ships at sea.
The MoU will see the Australian company deliver a pre-production, heavy fuel engine to Skyways for integration into its UAS and subsequent flight testing.
“Working with Skyways represents an exciting new development within the unmanned market for the company,” said Todd Alder, CEO and managing director of Orbital UAV.
The US Navy selected UAS cargo transport solutions developer Skyways in November last year to provide a UAS prototype to demonstrate long-range naval ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore cargo transport.
The selection process required industry to demonstrate potentially viable commercial platforms that could autonomously transport a 20-pound (~9kg) payload to a moving ship 230 miles (~370km) away without refueling. Of over 65 UAS platforms analyzed, NAWCAD selected the Skyways Group-3 UAS platform for further testing and evaluation.
The US Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) is investing in unmanned air systems capability and evaluating applications where naval cargo transport requires vehicles that can successfully operate through difficult environments that include heavy winds, open water and pitching vessels at sea.
Historic data from US Navy casualty reports show that warships that move to non-mission capable or partially mission capable status often do so due to logistics-related issues like electronics parts or assemblies – 90 percent of which are logistical deliveries weighing less than 50 pounds (~23kgs). Transportation of these supplies is currently undertaken by tactical aircraft like the H-60 helicopter and V-22 tilt-rotor aircraft. UAS are seen as a more efficient and cost-effective solution.
“Since being selected by the US Navy last year, we’re continuing to develop our offering to ensure we meet the rigorous demands of ship-to-ship and shore-to-ship logistics,” said Charles Acknin, CEO and founder of Skyways.
Orbital UAV said it would deliver a heavy fuel pre-production engine to Skyways in the first quarter of 2022. It will then be integrated by Skyways into its UAS for flight testing, before being returned to Orbital UAV for evaluation.
