(NAVAIR) awarded Airbus U.S. Space & Defense a Phase I Other Transactional Authority Agreement, through Naval Aviation Systems Consortium, in support of the United States Marine Corps Aerial Logistics Connector.
The award is part of a Middle Tier of Acquisition (MTA) Rapid Prototyping Program which aims to provide the USMC with prototypes to demonstrate the aircrafts capabilities to the warfighter through a series of operationally experiments.
“Our unmanned UH-72 Logistics Connector leverages nearly two decades of U.S. military capability and offers Marines a versatile, affordable and enduring solution to address logistics missions around the globe,” said Rob Geckle, Chairman and CEO of Airbus U.S. Space & Defense. “We look forward to supporting the Marine Corps with this latest modernization of the Lakota platform.”
The Airbus U.S. UH-72 Unmanned Logistics Connector, a variant of the proven Lakota platform, is intended to provide logistical support during expeditionary operations within contested environments.
The uncrewed UH-72 for the Marines, also called the Unmanned Logistics Connector (ULC), is based on the improved UH-72B variant of the Lakota, the first example of which was delivered to the Army in 2021. Airbus says that the ULC version has a high degree of commonality with the crewed UH-72B, and takes advantage of the improvements found on that helicopter over the earlier A variant. This includes a Fenestron-style (ducted fan) tail rotor, a simplified main rotor head with five blades instead of four, and improved digitally-controlled engines. Airbus says this gives the UH-72B improved lift performance and makes it easier to maintain, things that would also be beneficial for the ULC version.
The UH-72 ULC is expected to be able to cruise at speeds of 135 knots out to ranges of at least 350 nautical miles, according to the Airbus website. The uncrewed Lakota will have a maximum payload capacity of around 4,000 pounds and be able to carry cargo internally and slung underneath its fuselage. Crewed UH-72s already have rear clamshell doors and an open cabin design with relatively large doors on either side, which translate well to an uncrewed cargo-carrying configuration.
The ULC version of the UH-72 is expected to have a certain degree of autonomy from the outset, but these capabilities are also expected to expand and evolve over time, according to Airbus. The company also says that is leveraging unspecified previous in-house uncrewed and autonomous technology work to help accelerate the development of the uncrewed UH-72. A human operator will be somewhere in the helicopter’s command loop at all times.
For an uncrewed logistics platform, being able to automatically follow a route using preset waypoints could be a useful baseline level of autonomy. More expansive autonomous capabilities, including the ability to more dynamically change routes or otherwise respond to pop-up threats or other hazards, would be highly desirable, especially for resupply missions for forces in more contested environments.
Sources: Airbus; War Zone