The Army and Lockheed Martin [LMT] have been working toward improving capabilities of the K-MAX unmanned helicopters, two of which have been operating for more than 18 months in Afghanistan under the Marine Corps cargo delivery program.
Jon McMillen, Lockheed Martin’s lead for business development for unmanned systems, said Friday that the Army is looking to develop more capabilities for the aircraft for potential cargo missions.
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| K-MAX. Photo by Lockheed Martin. |
During demonstrations at Fort Pickett, Va., in June, a K-MAX system showed the ability to be operated from multiple existing ground control stations and to autonomously re-route itself in flight when informed of a no-fly zone.
A different antenna system mounting was able to stream data and high resolution images to reach satellites through the rotors, which hadn’t been previously possible, he said.
The testing also demonstrated three-dimensional imaging to allow the helicopter to better identify the terrain and obstacles in flight and on the ground to better make decisions, for example, about the best spot to land, McMillen said in an interview ahead of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International conference (AUVSI) that begins Monday in Washington.
The Army issued Lockheed Martin a contract in 2011 to develop advanced capabilities for K-MAX, some of which the Marines have adapted and deployed with the two-K-MAXs that have been operating in Afghanistan. Among those was the use of a ground-based beacon to guide the unmanned vehicles to a specific landing location.
The Navy and Marine Corps developed the K-MAX helicopters under an urgent need and two of them deployed in late 2011. Since their arrival, they have won high marks for being able to autonomously deliver cargo to remote areas of the country while reducing risk associated with ground convoys or manned flights.
The Marines have continuously extended K-MAX’s stay beyond the originally planned six months. Marine Corps Commandant Gen. James Amos told reporters in June that he intends to make the service Cargo UAS program a program of record. The Army is also looking at the possibility of a similar program.
One of the K-MAX helicopters crashed in June, and the cause remains under investigation. The accident resulted in the operational grounding of both birds. Recently, the undamaged one began training flights but has not been cleared to resume operations.