Oakland-based startup Pyka and Sierra Nevada Corp. (SNC) are offering a modified version of Pyka’s autonomous, all-electric Pelican Cargo drone for DoD/military service use, the companies said on May 6.
“Together, Pyka and SNC have introduced RUMRUNNER— a modified edition of Pelican Cargo, the world’s largest 100 percent electric cargo UAS for sustainment in contested operations,” Pyka and SNC said. “Featuring high-thrust super-short takeoff and landing (SSTOL) capability, a payload capacity of up to 400 pounds, and range of up to 200 miles, RUMRUNNER is a game-changer for military sustainment operations, enabling dynamic logistics and operational energy support from points of distribution to points of need.”
Pyka said that its CEO, Michael Norcia, founded the company in 2017 in his parent’s garage in Silicon Valley and that, soon after, Norcia moved operations to the backyard to fit the firm’s “Big Bird” proof-of-concept vehicle.
Pyka said in February that the U.S. Air Force’s AFWERX innovation arm would lease three Pelican Cargo drones for the Agility Prime program to study how Pyka could address the Department of the Air Force’s “most pressing challenges.”
At the time, Air Force Lt. Col. John Tekell, the Agility Prime branch chief, said that the program looked forward “to learning about the deployment and operational capabilities of electric aircraft through this contract.”
Michael Bertman, SNC’s vice president of programs at SNC, said on May 6 that SNC had assessed designs for contested logistics cargo drones “and concluded that the Pelican Cargo is significantly more capable than any other platform.”
“It is the only all-electric, austere environment cargo aircraft with that kind of range, payload capacity, and cargo volume,” he said. “While the clean energy aspect is important, creating a more diverse, distributed, and survivable supply chain is expected to be the primary driver in terms of interest from the DoD. The Zero-Fuel component minimizes the need to forward-stage bulk fuel, which significantly reduces the logistics tail normally associated with resupply operations. This presents opportunities to increase the survivability of our service members, reduce risks to the force, and transform the way military operations have historically been conducted.”
SNC is fresh from a $13 billion win for the U.S. Air Force’s Survivable Airborne Operations Center (SAOC) to replace the Boeing [BA] E-4B “Nighwatch” fleet, based on the 747 passenger plane and used as a mobile national command authority in crisis situations, such as “doomsday” events (Defense Daily, Apr. 26).
“SNC is a key BIG SAFARI contractor, making it easier for special forces and other government agencies to acquire and modify quickly,” James Poss, the CEO of the Mississippi-based ISR Ideas consultancy and a former Air Force deputy chief of staff for ISR, wrote in a May 6 LinkedIn post. “Will SOF go unmanned for cargo in addition to ISR and strike?”
Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio runs BIG SAFARI, begun in the 1950s, which aims to field special purpose aircraft, including drones and ISR planes, from existing designs. The RC-135V/W Rivet Joint is an example of a BIG SAFARI fielded aircraft.