A 1-ton Silent Arrow Autonomous Cargo Delivery Aircraft with Wings Cocked and Fuselage Loaded is Prepared for Loading Onto a Deployment Aircraft at Silent Arrow’s Flight Test Center, Pendleton Oregon
Silent Arrow has announced the United States Air Force has awarded contract FA864921P0478 entitled “Feasibility of Downsizing and Adapting Commercial Silent Arrow Cargo Delivery UAS to Meet Specific AFSOC Operational Requirements” to the company effective February 5, 2021.
The contract will be executed in partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) with funding from AFWERX.
Under this Small Business Innovation Research contract, the commercially successful Silent Arrow GD-2000 (Glider, Disposable, 2000 pounds) platform will be scaled down for CV-22 cargo ramp and smaller fixed-wing side-door deployment activities for unspecified U.S. operations.
In accordance with the tenets of the SBIR program, Silent Arrow heavy payload cargo UAS will subsequently be procurable on a sole-source basis by the United States government for special operations and tactical resupply as well as humanitarian aid and disaster relief.
“This contract creates a new Silent Arrow product line, custom tailored to one of the specific needs of the special operations community,” said Chip Yates, Silent Arrow’s founder and CEO. “We are pleased with the Air Force’s vision and decisiveness in driving this life-saving asset into the hands of the warfighter.”
Silent Arrow’s tightly integrated packaging with its patented spring-deployed wing system transported inside the fuselage, 1,600-pound payload capacity, 40-mile standoff distance and low unit cost, has received enthusiastic reception from U.S. and foreign customers and is currently being delivered to directly serve heavy-payload, autonomous cargo resupply needs throughout the world.
Source: Press Release