The K-MAX unmanned cargo helicopter will be deployed to Afghanistan next month following an evaluation that concluded the system performed well during testing last summer, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) recently said.
Two K-MAX systems are scheduled for a six-month deployment under the Navy and Marine Corps’ plan designed to strengthen Marine ground and air logistics operations. Lockheed Martin [LMT] is the lead on the K-MAX in partnership with Kaman Aerospace [KAMN].
K-MAX completed five days of Quick Reactions Assessment (QRA) drills in August at the Yuma Proving Ground, Ariz, setting up the decision by Rear Adm. Bill Shannon, the program executive officer for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons, to send the system into theater.
“I am very excited to deploy a system that will keep our Marines and sailors out of harm’s way and ultimately save lives,” Shannon said in a statement.
The unmanned, autonomous flying helicopter is intended to reduce the risks, such as ambushes or improvised explosive devices (IEDs), that come with moving supplies in ground convoys.
Navy officials awarded dueling development contracts to Lockheed Martin and Boeing [BA] in December to create an unmanned airlift capability, in response to an urgent requirements request by Marines in Afghanistan. Boeing is competing with its A160T Hummingbird, a system it inherited after acquiring Frontier Systems in 2004.
A QRA timeframe for the Hummingbird was still pending, Jamie Cosgrove, a spokeswoman for Naval Air Systems Command, said.
The QRA showed that K-MAX exceeded the Navy and Marines’ requirement to carry 6,000 pounds of cargo daily over a five-day period in temperature, flight and terrain conditions resembling those in Afghanistan, NAVAIR said. K-MAX carried 33,400 pounds of cargo during the evaluation.
“K-MAX has the capability to deliver a tremendous amount of cargo over the course of the deployment,” Marine Maj. Kyle O’Connor, whose detachment ran the Yuma test, said.
“We successfully completed all missions and reacted to challenging scenarios,” said O’Connor, who will lead K-MAX operations in Afghanistan.
Kaman designed the K-MAX platform, while Lockheed Martin was responsible for the helicopter’s mission management and control systems.