The U.S. Navy’s Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) has purchased a prototype of a Skyways unmanned air system and will adapt the platform to autonomously transport military cargo to ships.
NAWCAD intends to configure the vehicle, dubbed Blue Water Maritime Logistics UAS, to help Military Sealift and Fleet Forces Command address ship cargo resupply requirements, the Naval Air Systems Command said Monday.
Skyways’ Group 3 platform was one of two drones down-selected from more than 65 offerings that the warfare center evaluated last year. The Texas-based company won the industry competition following a system demonstration at NAWCAD’s inaugural Advanced Naval Technology Test Exercise.
The center plans to bring the platform to the Atlantic Test Ranges for fleet experimentation over the next year after fine-tuning the Blue Water system.
“Results of the technical feasibility and technology demonstration efforts conducted will be shared and used to discuss transition to support fleet initiatives,” said James Tomasic, co-lead and experimentation engineer for Blue Water at NAWCAD.
