USN trialling cargo drones at sea

[Kirkhill]

An unmanned vehicle component from the U.S. Navy’s Blue Water logistics Unmanned Aerial System, of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division’s (NAWCAD) UX-24 Unmanned Test Squadron, takes off from the flight deck of Military Sealift Command’s fleet replenishment oiler USNS Joshua Humphreys (T-AO-188) while the ship was at sea in the Atlantic Ocean, on July 16, 2021. US Navy Photo

Navy to Deploy Up to Four Cargo Drones on an Aircraft Carrier this Year - USNI News

This post has been updated to include clarify comments from NAWCAD on the numbers of cargo UAVs that could deploy from a carrier later this year and to correct the test versions of the Skyways UAV that was used lasts year. They were V2.5 not V.2.2 . NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – Logistics drones...

news.usni.org

NATIONAL HARBOR, Md. – Logistics drones capable of carrying up to 50-pound payloads will embark on a U.S. aircraft carrier later this year to see if the unmanned aerial vehicles are practical at sea.

The test, led by the experimentation and prototyping division at the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD), is a response to Military Sealift Command and Naval Air Forces Atlantic seeking a faster way to send critical parts to warships underway.

The service has found that 90 percent of critical mission failures for systems underway can be repaired with a payload fewer than 20 pounds, which is well within the capacity of several commercial unmanned aerial systems.

 

[GR66]

I found this point particularly interesting:

The service has found that 90 percent of critical mission failures for systems underway can be repaired with a payload fewer than 20 pounds, which is well within the capacity of several commercial unmanned aerial systems.