New Contested Logistics Drone Will Carry 500 Pound Cargo Over 200 Nautical Miles

Silent Arrow's CLS-200 (Contested Logistics System, 200 Nautical Miles) Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) will have an extended range, air droppable, and capable of taking off from the ground including from unimproved surfaces By Joseph Macey / 26 Nov 2024

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A contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is set to fund the development of Silent Arrow’s aircraft with the capability to carry 500 pounds over 200 nautical miles. 

Contested logistics drone from Silent Arrow
A Silent Arrow GD-2000 carrying a 1,000-pound payload is loaded aboard a C-130H for deployment. The foundational engineering of the GD-2000 is enabling rapid design, build and flight test of the AFRL-funded Silent Arrow CLS-200.

Silent Arrow has been selected for a $1.8 million Direct to Phase ll SBIR contract by the AFRL focused on building and flight testing the CLS-200 (Contested Logistics System, 200 Nautical Miles) attritable special missions Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS).

The CLS-200 relies on the foundational engineering of the commercially successful Silent Arrow GD-2000, the world’s first heavy payload, autonomous and attritable cargo delivery aircraft to enter full-rate production.

Whereas the GD-2000 is an unpowered glider, the new CLS-200 can travel six times as far by utilizing an innovative propulsion unit and propeller system that are inexpensive enough to allow the entire cargo drone to be single-use. In addition to being air droppable, it will also be capable of taking off from the ground including from unimproved surfaces, naval vessels and other launch points.

Chip Yates, Silent Arrow’s Founder and CEO, said; “We’d like to thank the U.S. Air Force, AFRL and our Air Force Customer and End-User organizations for expanding Silent Arrow’s warfighter offerings by awarding this competitive Direct to Phase II.

“The flight testing at our Pendleton, Oregon facility will be exciting as we longline airdrop 5 units from our UH-1H rotorcraft and then deliver a 6th unit to the Air Force for their hands-on evaluation.”

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Posted by Joseph Macey Joseph Macey is a Content Specialist at Defense Advancement, where he has focused on emerging defense technologies since joining in 2022. His expertise spans tactical UAS, rugged computing, and Satellite Communication Systems. After graduating in Journalism from Falmouth University, Joseph began his career in 2019 as a local reporter. His journalism background enhances both his reporting and interview skills, enabling him to provide insightful, authoritative analysis of the latest trends shaping the defense industry. Connect
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