Bloomfield’s Kaman Corp. and its defense partner, Lockheed Corp., have successfully shown another application for its unmanned helicopters: Resupplying troops with parachute cargo drops.
Kaman Aerospace Corp. and Lockheed in late April tested the K-Max drone’s ability to airdrop cargo from 300 feet to 400 feet above ground at the U.S. Army’s Natick Soldier Research site in Natick, Mass.
The 11 test airdrops used a $375 parachute to drop payloads weighing from 80 lbs. to 600 lbs., Kaman said Wednesday.
In January, Kaman and Lockheed demonstrated to the Marines at a U.S. test site the K-Max drone’s landing ability to resupply ground troops. The drone prototype is due to be deployed to Afghanistan later this year where the Marine will test the aircraft for cargo supply missions in remote bases.
Kaman’s three-ton, remote-controlled drone is competing for a slice of the military’s multi-billion-dollar budget for unmanned aircraft to perform reconnaissance, bombing and resupply missions day and night. Piloted civilian versions are used in logging and emergency rescue.
Sikorsky Aircraft Co. in Stratford also is racing to adapt its Black Hawk helicopters for unmanned use.
