Army cargo drones could soon start supplying frontline Soldiers

The U.S. Army is investing in a new drone that can carry ammunition and supplies to frontline units on the battlefield.

On Tuesday, the Army awarded Elroy Air a $46 million contract for the development of its Chaparral heavy cargo drone which is designed to resupply troops in action.

This is a multi-year contract for the development of an autonomous hybrid-electric vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) uncrewed aircraft system for modular, multi-mission payload delivery.

“This contract reinforces the critical role that heavy-lift autonomous hybrid VTOL drones will play in modern defense operations,” CEO of Elroy Air Dr. Andrew Clare, said in a company press release.

The Chaparral is an autonomous hybrid-electric vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drone. It is designed for modular multi-mission payload delivery and can carry more than 500 lbs of cargo.

Its VTOL capabilities mean that it can take off like a helicopter – thus not requiring a runway – but still fly like a fixed-wing aircraft. Therefore, it is ideal to resupply troops in austere, degraded, and denied operational environments where traditional logistics are harder.

The Chaparral sports a hybrid-electric power-train that can achieve an operational range of up to 450 miles. It has multi-mission pods that allow operators to rapidly reconfigure the payload categories it can carries, thus making the drone more versatile.

“We are thrilled to expand our partnership with the U.S. Army to bring rapid, autonomous heavy cargo delivery capabilities that increase operational throughput and reduce risk for our troops,” Clare added.

Elroy Air, Inc. is a U.S.-based technology company that specializes in the development of autonomous heavy-cargo drones for defense, rapid response, and commercial logistics.

The Chaparral will come with GPS-denied navigation and cyber-protected communications to ensure that adversary jamming does not affect its operations on the battlefield, since one of the main ways to counter drones is to jam their signal.

An evolving role on the battlefield

Unmanned aerial systems are now an integral part of modern warfare. The Ukrainian and Russian militaries are spearheading drone tactics and development, and other countries are following suit.

Drones that can resupply troops in action are a new concept developed during the war in Ukraine.

The Ukrainian military has been using unmanned aerial systems to resupply frontline units, which are sometimes trapped by Russian advances. The prevalence of kamikaze drones on the battlefield has complicated traditional logistics, forcing the Ukrainian forces to find innovative ways to move ammunition, food, and medical supplies to fighting units.

The U.S. Army is learning the right lessons from that war. Incorporating these lessons and changing tactics will take some time, but could spell the difference between prevailing or not in a future conflict.

Feature Image: Elroy Air’s Chaparral heavy cargo drone. (Elroy Air)

Read more from Sandboxx News

A-10 Thunderbolt might be paired with AI and modern tech thanks to recent legislation

Navy wants to equip its warships with Shield-AI’s X-BAT fighter drones

Navy awards Raytheon massive $23 billion contract to speed up Tomahawk production

Army expands its ‘Amazon-style’ drone marketplace to include bigger drones after initial success

Which American fighter jet has the best thrust-to-weight ratio?