The U.S. Air Force Laboratory (AFRL) awarded the firm Silent Arrow a purchase contract for 15 autonomous cargo delivery glider systems to evaluate their potential for various tactical situations, such as supporting special forces operations.
According to the company, the Silent Arrow® GD-2000 (for 2000 lb. Disposable Glider) commercial platform will be scaled down and redesigned as a new product line called the Silent Arrow Precision Guided Bundle (SA-PGB), which will initially be developed as a stand-alone cargo delivery glider.
The Silent Arrow GD-2000, from which the SA-PGB will be derived, is a simple, compact, disposable autonomous system that allows delivery of a maximum of 740 kg (1.631 lb) of cargo, up to a distance of 60 km (40 mile aprox.) from the launch point.
The SA-PGB will be specifically designed for side-door and rear ramp deployment of multiple units (swarm), compatible with a greatly expanded fleet of cargo aircraft ranging from the civilian Cessna Caravan to the military C-17.
“We would like to thank the U.S. special operations community, the Air Force, Navy, Army and several other organizations who signed on to support this award of a new life-saving cargo delivery drone,” said Chip Yates, founder and CEO of Silent Arrow. “We look forward to conducting an exciting flight test program in 2022 and quickly getting this new capability into the hands of the warfighter and disaster relief organizations.”
The SA-PGB will be designed and built at Silent Arrow’s headquarters in Irvine, California, and 15 aircraft will be shipped to the company’s Pendleton, Oregon, flight test center for operational evaluations at the Pendleton UAS proving ground.
Initial specifications include a maximum weight of 500 pounds (226 kg), a load capacity of 350 pounds (158 kg), a length of 39 inches (1 m) and the ability to deploy from high altitudes and speeds.
