The Pentagon is developing unmanned aircrafts for supply runs that can be controlled from a mobile phone or tablet -- think of it as Amazon drones in olive drab. February 11, 2014 6:00 PM PST DARPA's ARES program is developing unmanned aerial vehicles to carry out reconnaissance missions (top left), casualty evacuation (top right), and cargo resupply (top center and bottom). (Credit: DARPA) In hard-to-reach warzones, it can be near impossible to get supplies to ground soldiers or conduct rescue missions without coming under enemy fire or landing in minefields. Given these logistical issues, the US Department of Defense in its DARPA division, has begun developing unmanned helicopter-like aircrafts -- aka drones -- for supply runs, airborne reconnaissance missions, and casualty evacuations. Not your ordinary drones, these futuristic machines will be designed to carry up to 3,000 pounds, have their own power system, fuel, digital flight controls, and remote command-and-control interfaces. The military will be able to control these unmanned aerial vehicles with mobile apps on their smartphones or tablets. The aircrafts are being created within DARPA's Aerial Reconfigurable Embedded System (ARES) program and are currently in their third and final design phase. Lockheed Martin Skunk Works is the lead designer and in charge of system integration for the third phase of the program. Getting supplies to soldiers on the front line can be a major challenge. According to the Department of Defense, combat outposts need roughly 100,000 pounds of material per week. If soldiers are located high in the mountains or deep in a jungle, trucking in supplies is often out of the question. Helicopters can do the job -- but demand for drop-offs often exceeds helicopter availability. "Many missions require dedicated vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) assets, but most ground units don't have their own helicopters," DARPA program manager Ashish Bagai said in a statement. "Our goal is to provide flexible, terrain-independent transportation that avoids ground-based threats, in turn supporting expedited, cost-effective operations and improving the likelihood of mission success." Related stories DARPA: 'Vanishing' spy tech will self-destruct in 3,2,1... Japan's Schaft has all the right stuff at DARPA robot trials DARPA wants you to play video games NASA unveils 6-foot 'superhero robot' Valkyrie DARPA developing implant to monitor brain in real time The new ARES drones will be able to go as fast as a small aircraft and have vertical take-off and landing capabilities. Built-in twin tilting ducted fans will allow for useful hovering and landing within small areas, like on rugged terrain and ships. In fact, according to DARPA, these systems will be able to land in zones half the area of similarly-sized helicopters. Delivery drones have been gaining in popularity over the past year. Not only did Amazon announce in December that it was testing a drone delivery service to deliver packages within 30 minutes of an order being placed, but the United Arab Emirates also just began testing drone deliveries for official documents. This isn't the Pentagon's first foray into futuristic helicopters. In October it was revealed that the Department of Defense was working of a fleet of new rotorcrafts for a variety of uses. The idea is to create a new generation of vertical-lift aircrafts within the next 25 to 40 years. Helicopters of the future: A brief history (pictures) 1-2 of 20 Scroll Left Scroll Right
The Pentagon is developing unmanned aircrafts for supply runs that can be controlled from a mobile phone or tablet -- think of it as Amazon drones in olive drab.
DARPA's ARES program is developing unmanned aerial vehicles to carry out reconnaissance missions (top left), casualty evacuation (top right), and cargo resupply (top center and bottom).
(Credit: DARPA)
In hard-to-reach warzones, it can be near impossible to get supplies to ground soldiers or conduct rescue missions without coming under enemy fire or landing in minefields.
Given these logistical issues, the US Department of Defense in its DARPA division, has begun developing unmanned helicopter-like aircrafts -- aka drones -- for supply runs, airborne reconnaissance missions, and casualty evacuations.
Not your ordinary drones, these futuristic machines will be designed to carry up to 3,000 pounds, have their own power system, fuel, digital flight controls, and remote command-and-control interfaces. The military will be able to control these unmanned aerial vehicles with mobile apps on their smartphones or tablets.
The aircrafts are being created within DARPA's Aerial Reconfigurable Embedded System (ARES) program and are currently in their third and final design phase. Lockheed Martin Skunk Works is the lead designer and in charge of system integration for the third phase of the program.
Getting supplies to soldiers on the front line can be a major challenge. According to the Department of Defense, combat outposts need roughly 100,000 pounds of material per week. If soldiers are located high in the mountains or deep in a jungle, trucking in supplies is often out of the question. Helicopters can do the job -- but demand for drop-offs often exceeds helicopter availability.
"Many missions require dedicated vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) assets, but most ground units don't have their own helicopters," DARPA program manager Ashish Bagai said in a statement. "Our goal is to provide flexible, terrain-independent transportation that avoids ground-based threats, in turn supporting expedited, cost-effective operations and improving the likelihood of mission success."
Related stories
- DARPA: 'Vanishing' spy tech will self-destruct in 3,2,1...
- Japan's Schaft has all the right stuff at DARPA robot trials
- DARPA wants you to play video games
- NASA unveils 6-foot 'superhero robot' Valkyrie
- DARPA developing implant to monitor brain in real time
The new ARES drones will be able to go as fast as a small aircraft and have vertical take-off and landing capabilities. Built-in twin tilting ducted fans will allow for useful hovering and landing within small areas, like on rugged terrain and ships. In fact, according to DARPA, these systems will be able to land in zones half the area of similarly-sized helicopters.
Delivery drones have been gaining in popularity over the past year. Not only did Amazon announce in December that it was testing a drone delivery service to deliver packages within 30 minutes of an order being placed, but the United Arab Emirates also just began testing drone deliveries for official documents.
This isn't the Pentagon's first foray into futuristic helicopters. In October it was revealed that the Department of Defense was working of a fleet of new rotorcrafts for a variety of uses. The idea is to create a new generation of vertical-lift aircrafts within the next 25 to 40 years.
