Autonomous aerial resupply drone to be tested by Leidos, Elroy Air for USMC
NewsMay 15, 2024
RESTON, Virginia. Leidos and Elroy Air will collaborate on a demonstration of an autonomous aerial resupply vehicle for the U.S. Marine Corps called the Medium Aerial Resupply Vehicle – Expeditionary Logistics (MARV-EL) prototype, which is set for flight testing in July 2024 at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, the companies announced in a joint statement.
This initiative is part of an ongoing contract with the Navy and Marine Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems program office (PMA-263) to develop and validate an uncrewed aircraft system capable of autonomously delivering supplies to forward-deployed forces, the statement reads. The system being tested is Elroy Air's Chaparral, a hybrid-electric vertical take-off and landing (hVTOL) cargo aircraft, which offers "lift-plus-cruise" capabilities.
The Chaparral uses wing-borne flight and electric propulsion, enhanced by turbo-generation, to facilitate efficient and extended-range autonomous missions, the statement reads.
The MARV-EL project is designed to offer rapid response logistics support to Marine Corps units engaged in advanced base operations and other distributed missions, providing a resupply service when traditional manned or ground transport options are impracticable, the companies say.
