Air Drive funding to end in a scaled-up Silent Arrow® with propulsion system to hold 1,000 kilos of payload over 300 nautical miles in contested environments
Silent Arrow at the moment introduced it has been chosen by AFWERX for a SBIR contract targeted on the Silent Arrow CLS-300 (“Contested Logistics System, 300 Nautical Miles”) to handle one of many most urgent challenges within the Division of the Air Drive (DAF).
The CLS-300 is predicated on the commercially profitable Silent Arrow GD-2000, the world’s first heavy payload, autonomous and attritable cargo supply plane designed to hold 1,500 lbs. of cargo over 35 nautical miles when deployed from cargo plane such because the Lockheed Martin C-130, Boeing C-17 and Airbus A400M.
Whereas the GD-2000 is a glider, the brand new CLS-300 can journey practically 10 occasions as far by using an revolutionary propulsion unit and propeller system which can be cheap sufficient to permit the whole cargo drone to be attritable. Along with being air droppable, it is going to even be able to taking off from the bottom together with from unimproved surfaces, naval vessels and different launch factors.
“We’d prefer to thank the U.S. Air Drive, AFWERX, AFRL and our Air Drive Buyer and Finish-Person organizations for his or her confidence in awarding this disruptive program,” mentioned Chip Yates, Silent Arrow’s Founder and CEO. “We’re wanting ahead to a compressed schedule with propulsion assessments within the first half of 2024 adopted by flight assessments within the second half of 2024 in order that we could quickly ship this important functionality to warfighters working in hurt’s manner in addition to to humanitarian and catastrophe aid organizations serving these in want.”
About Silent Arrow®
The Silent Arrow® product line consists of 4 sizes of autonomous cargo supply plane able to carrying 350 to 2,000 kilos of emergency, catastrophe aid and humanitarian response provides wherever on the planet on quick discover. Silent Arrow’s engineering group has been awarded greater than 20 patents, 6 Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) plane world data and a pair of FAI Louis Bleriot medals for disruptive contributions to the aerospace trade. In 2021 Silent Arrow® was chosen as a finalist for the Robert J. Collier Trophy because the “Biggest Achievement in Aeronautics or Astronautics in America.”
For extra data go to www.Silent-Arrow.com
About AFRL
The Air Drive Analysis Laboratory is the major scientific analysis and improvement middle for the Division of the Air Drive. AFRL performs an integral function in main the invention, improvement, and integration of inexpensive warfighting applied sciences for our air, house and our on-line world power. With a workforce of greater than 12,500 throughout 9 expertise areas and 40 different operations throughout the globe, AFRL gives a various portfolio of science and expertise starting from elementary to superior analysis and expertise improvement.
For extra data, go to afresearchlab.com
About AFWERX
Because the innovation arm of the DAF and a directorate throughout the Air Drive Analysis Laboratory, AFWERX brings cutting-edge American ingenuity from small companies and start-ups to handle essentially the most urgent challenges of the DAF. AFWERX employs roughly 325 navy, civilian and contractor personnel at six hubs and websites executing an annual $1.4 billion funds. Since 2019, AFWERX has executed 4,697 contracts value greater than $2.6 billion to strengthen the U.S. protection industrial base and drive sooner expertise transition to operational functionality.
For extra data, go to: afwerx.com