Aerospace company Silent Arrow has awarded a contract to the Air Force Research Laboratory’s AFWERX innovation division to develop a motorized version of the GD-2000 airframe. It will be able to fly a distance of 560 km, reports New Atlas.
Silent Arrow has made a name for itself by developing a series of military and civilian autonomous glider drones capable of carrying up to 680kg. These drones are designed to be transported by transport aircraft or helicopters. They are dropped from an aircraft, after which they “spread their wings” and fly to their destination in zones of natural disasters or war. They are cheap enough to be used as a consumable item.
But previously such aircraft lacked range. The GD-200, for example, can only fly about 65 km after being dropped from a Lockheed Martin C-130, Boeing C-17 or Airbus A400M transport aircraft. The CLS-300 will increase its range by 10 times due to the use of a motorized pusher propeller.
Silent Arrow says that in addition to its greater range, the CLS-300’s motorized configuration will allow it to take off autonomously from unmodified runways, ships and other platforms.
Previously, a group of Chinese scientists developed drones that can participate in “group chats”, discuss and distribute tasks among themselves, like human teams.
Ekaterina Sadkova
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2023-12-30 13:14:35
