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By Antonio Percy |
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February 9, 2010 –
Lockheed Martin Corporation and Kaman Aerospace Corporation successfully
demonstrated to the U.S. Marine Corps the capability of the Unmanned
K-MAX helicopter to resupply troops by unmanned helicopter at forward
operating bases in During a series of flights last week in subfreezing temperatures at the U.S. Army’s Dugway Proving Ground, UT, the Unmanned K-MAX demonstrated autonomous and remote control flight over both line-of-sight and satellite-based beyond line-of-sight data link.
“We met or
exceeded the requirements within the scheduled three-day timeframe of
the demonstration,” said Dan Spoor, Aviation Systems vice president at
Lockheed Martin’s Mission Systems & Sensors facility in
Performance
attributes demonstrated included hovering at 12,000 ft. with a
1,500-pound sling load; delivering 3,000 pounds of cargo well within the
six-hour required timeframe to a forward operating base (two 150 nm
round-trip flights); remotely controlling flight and a precision load
delivery by a ground-based operator in both day and night conditions;
and uploading a new mission plan to the aircraft’s mission management
system during flight. |
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As an optional demonstration, Team K-MAX showcased the Unmanned K-MAX helicopter’s four-hook carousel, which enables multi-load deliveries in a single flight. Lifting a total cargo of 3,450 pounds, the aircraft flew to three pre-programmed delivery coordinates, autonomously releasing a sling load at each location. At the customer’s request, the fourth load delivery was performed under manual control by the ground operator. |
“The Unmanned
System performed operationally representative cargo resupply scenarios,
and each time the system delivered as promised,” said Sal Bordonaro,
President, Kaman Helicopters, a division of Kaman Aerospace Corporation.
“This capability gives the Marine Corps a proven unmanned power lifter
to bring vital cargo to troops on the battlefield without the need for
ground vehicles and manned helicopters.” Team K-MAX has flown the
Unmanned K-MAX nearly 400 hours in unmanned mode since 2007. The
demonstration fulfilled an $860,000 U.S. Marine Corps contract awarded
to K-MAX manufacturer Kaman Aerospace in August 2009.
Kaman Corporation,
founded in 1945 by aviation pioneer Charles H. Kaman, and headquartered
in
Headquartered in |
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