Lockheed Martin's Autonomous Helicopter Wins Contract

Lockheed Martin's Unmanned Helicopter Can Carry Supplies At Long Ranges

Well, it’s not every day you get to update your own work on the fly, but remember when I told you about the Yale Aerial Manipulator? Yeah, like forty minutes ago. But as it turns out, Lockheed Martin’s already done something similar, but much bigger.

You’re looking at a shot of Lockheed Martin’s autonomous helicopter, which just won a production contract with the United States military. Sure, it doesn’t have the Yale Aerial Manipulator’s claw-grip hand, or its indoor beer-fetching capability, but what it does have is amazing.

The Lockheed Martin autonomous helicopter, the ATUAS K-Max by name, can lift up to one and a half tons (3,000 pounds) and can travel for 150 nautical miles per tank of fuel. It can even carry a strictly optional pilot for manual control as needed.

The ATUAS K-Max could see action by the end of 2011 in Afghanistan, where helicopters that fly themselves would be very welcome.

Credit: Source.
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