KARGO UAV Takes Flight: Kaman Corporation Celebrates Successful First Flight of Autonomous KARGO UAV
30 Abril 2024 - 7:00AM
Business Wire
Kaman Corporation proudly announces the significant achievement
of the first flight of the full-scale KARGO UAV, a purpose-built,
autonomous, expeditionary resupply vehicle. This milestone, which
took place in December of 2023, signifies a major accomplishment in
the ongoing flight test progression. The development of this
medium-lift UAS, initiated in 2021 to address logistics needs for
U. S. Marine Corps operations, is now well underway.
“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,” he added. KARGO UAV
is intended to support the U. S. Military, partners, allies, and
commercial customers by providing affordable, reliable, and
maintainable logistics support in austere and maritime
environments. The design leverages existing high-TRL components so
that a suitable system could be deployed as soon as 2026.
Contributions from partners significantly aided the success of
the KARGO UAV flight test. Near Earth Autonomy, Kaman's partner for
the autonomy system based in Pittsburgh, PA, provided autonomy
features on the KARGO UAV. The two companies had previously
collaborated on the K-MAX unmanned system and had showcased an
earlier version of the autonomy technology to the Marines in April
2021. The Alaska Center for UAS Integration, part of the University
of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute, was key in facilitating
KARGO UAV flight test operations.
KARGO UAV is currently competing under the Marines’ Medium
Autonomous Resupply Vehicle—Expeditionary Logistics (MARV-EL)
program, which is managed by NAVAIR PMA-263 and culminates in a
fly-off in July of this year.
About Kaman Corporation
Kaman Corporation, founded in 1945 by aviation pioneer Charles
H. Kaman, and headquartered in Bloomfield, Connecticut, conducts
business in the aerospace & defense, industrial and medical
markets. Kaman produces and markets proprietary aircraft bearings
and components; super precision, miniature ball bearings;
proprietary spring energized seals, springs and contacts; wheels,
brakes and related hydraulic components for helicopters, fixed-wing
and UAV aircraft; complex metallic and composite aerostructures for
commercial, military and general aviation fixed and rotary wing
aircraft; safe and arming solutions for missile and bomb systems
for the U.S. and allied militaries; subcontract helicopter work;
restoration, modification and support of our SH-2G Super Seasprite
maritime helicopters; support of our heavy lift K-MAX® manned
helicopter, and development of the KARGO UAV unmanned aerial
system, a purpose-built autonomous medium lift logistics vehicle.
More information is available at www.kaman.com.
First Flight Video:
https://vimeo.com/936685705/e2c9772497?share=copy
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240430637939/en/
Media: Kristen Samson, Vice President and Chief Marketing
Officer Kaman Corporation (860) 243-6330
Kristen.Samson@kaman.com
Grace Miller, Director of Marketing Kaman Corporation (860)
249-9932 Grace.miller@kaman.com