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Navy/USMC

Near Earth’s Unmanned Bell 505 Offering Picked For Marines’ Resupply Drone Development Effort

By Matthew Beinart

Thursday, April 30th, 2026

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Near Earth’s Unmanned Bell 505 Offering Picked For Marines’ Resupply Drone Development Effort

Uncrewed Bell 505 helicopter selected as part of Near Earth Autonomy's offering for the Marine Corps' MARV-EL Inc. 2 development effort. Photo: Bell.

Near Earth Autonomy has announced its selection for the second increment of the Marine Corps’ Medium Aerial Resupply Vehicle–Expeditionary Logistics (MARV-EL) development program, with plans to work on an unmanned version of the Bell [TXT] 505 helicopter. “The program is to develop an uncrewed aerial logistics aircraft for where the risk and need are highest,” Lyle Chamberlain, Near Earth’s chief technology officer, said in a statement. "We are combining our Captain autonomy architecture with a proven Bell 505 platform to…

Congress

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Budget

Defense Bill Tries To Block Foreign Shipbuilding, Adds $1 Billion For Second DDG

The final version of the House Armed Services Committee’s (HASC) fiscal year 2027 defense authorization bill included two amendments pushed by Rep. Jared Golden (D-Maine) that restrict procuring Navy warships […]

Congress

Replacement Munitions May Not Be One-for-One; May Include New Weapons Chemistries, Wittman Says

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Congress

HASC Approves $1.15 Trillion FY ‘27 NDAA With ‘Right To Repair’ Reform

The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) has approved its $1.15 trillion version of the fiscal year 2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), with the panel moving to adopt a bipartisan […]