PteroDynamics sees navy ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore logistics missions as ideal for its cargo drone.
PteroDynamics demonstrated its Transwing cargo drone autonomously landing and taking off from USNS Burlington for the U.S. Navy earlier this month.
The X-P4 prototype flew nine autonomous launch and recovery demonstrations from the deck of the expeditionary fast transport ship during the U.S. Naval Forces Southern Command and U.S. 4th Fleet Hybrid Fleet Campaign Event, which kicked off on Oct. 4, the company said Oct. 31.
The Transwing has four electric-motor-driven rotors that are fixed to two wings. For vertical takeoffs and landings as well as hovering, the two wings rotate into a vertical position as they fold backward, in parallel to the aircraft’s fuselage. The company says its “dihedrally-folding wing system” makes for the “world’s most efficient VTOL design.”
PteroDynamics sees ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore logistics missions as ideal for its cargo drone. The company also envisions its uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) as useful for carrying critical goods for civilian maritime resupply missions, as well as logistics for the mining, oil and gas sectors.
The X-P4 prototype can carry a 15-lb. payload more than 60 nm (69 mi.). The drone has a 13-ft. wingspan and is purely electric. PteroDynamics says it is developing a larger vehicle, the X-P5, which would have a 50 lb. maximum payload with a 500-nm (575-mi.) range. That UAS would have a 22-ft. wingspan and be powered by a hybrid-electric powertrain.
“We think that that aircraft will be the sweet spot for cargo,” PteroDynamic Chief Revenue Officer Rich Brasel says. “I think most people would say an about 50-lb. payload will [handle] probably about 90% of the cargo that they need to transfer.”
To free up helicopters such as the Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk, which are limited in number and expensive to operate, the U.S. Navy has been studying moving small parts between ships, as well as to and from shore, using cargo drones as part of its Blue Water Maritime Logistics UAS effort. The service often cites an analysis that found that 90% of high-priority parts delivered from Military Sealift Command’s Combat Logistics Force ships weigh less than 50 lb.
