WASHINGTON, Oct. 5 (UPI) -- Robotic rotorcraft for autonomous aerial cargo delivery to U.S. troops on the battlefield are being developed by Lockheed Martin and Aurora Flight Sciences.
The U.S. Office of Naval Research is providing $28 million for the prototype design concept effort, which is part of a larger 5-year, $98 million program to develop sensors and control technologies for robotic rotorcraft.
"AACUS (Autonomous Aerial Cargo Utility System) responds to warfighter needs derived from our experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan," said Mike Deitchman, who heads ONR's Naval Air Warfare and Weapons Department.
"We are trying to develop an autonomous system to deliver supplies to the battlefront more quickly and to get our vehicle convoys off dangerous roads, where they're much more vulnerable to attack."
As envisaged, any soldier or Marine in the field would be able to operate the AACUS rotorcraft with a smartphone-like device.
The Navy and the two companies will start work this year and demonstrate the systems in 2014.
"The goal is to get to a first flight demonstration in 18 months in a realistic setting at a test range with obstacles present," said Mary "Missy" Cummings, program officer. "It's a fly-off to see who can do the best.
"The science and technology developed will be a huge leap in autonomous aircraft capabilities and human-machine interaction."
