The Department of Navy has tested and considers implementing unmanned aircraft systems that deliver supplies as needed in battlefield scenarios.
The U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps might adopt technologies demonstrated on Oct. 27th at Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division’s Webster Outlying Field, Naval Air Systems Command said Tuesday.
Air Test and Evaluation Squadron Two Four or UX-24 demonstrated the Tactical Resupply Unmanned Aircraft System (TRUAS) and the Blue Water logistics UAS.
TRUAS is designed to resupply shore-based Marines with tactical equipment and consumables such as food. Blue Water is made to resupply naval troops or Sailors at sea.
Between the two, TRUAS has a heavier lift capacity of 150 pounds and Blue Water has a longer range, but can only carry up to 50 pounds of cargo.
“The demonstration highlighted the basic capability of the systems to operate autonomously, to have mission plans uploaded and to execute the flights with little to no input while they were in the air,” said Cmdr. Seth Ervin, chief test pilot at UX-24.
The U.S. Marine Corps will accept deliveries of the TRUAS, also known as TRV-150, in the summer of next year.
