American company silent arrow, specializing in the development of autonomous unmanned aerial vehicles with heavy payloads for military and humanitarian aid, announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) between Airbus Defense and Space Solutions, MEL Aviation Ltd and Yates Electrospace Corporation O unmanned aerial cargo platform GD-2000, for various segments of the European market, including the public sector, the institutional sector and the military sector European Defense Agency.
The agreement establishes a tripartite autonomous cargo delivery collaboration that brings together Silent Arrow’s air logistics capabilities, MEL Aviation’s experience in aircraft manufacturing and Airbus’ experience in unmanned services to jointly address the needs of European customers.
GD series cargo UAS
Silent Arrow has developed a range of tandem winged precision delivery vehicles for United States Department of Defense conduct supply missions in scenarios where ground delivery is not feasible or safe. These platforms can be deployed from aircraft such as Lockheed C-5 Galaxy, C-130 Hercules, Boeing C-17 Globemaster III either V-22 Osprey; and transport using a sling v Sikorsky CH-53 Sea Stallion and other helicopters.
Series units GD-2000 They have a length of 2.43 meters, a wingspan of 8.5 meters, a total weight of 907 kilograms and can carry a maximum load of up to 680 kilograms for a distance of 40 miles (65 kilometers). These UAS gliders are autonomous, disposable, and capable of delivering quickly, economically, and into contested areas with GPS accuracy.
Strategic industrial cooperation
To facilitate the collaboration, Silent Arrow granted MEL Aviation an exclusive license to manufacture the platforms GD-2000 and its aftermarket parts United Kingdom and European Union, in accordance with quality standards ISO AS9100.
For its part, Airbus will provide sales, marketing and after-sales support and lead the operational services model for Silent Arrow, which will include the modification GD-2000 to meet international customer requirements, integrated logistics support, flight mission planning and recovery of various aircraft after takeoff. It will also certify the precision glider for operation from a military cargo aircraft Atlas A400M, after completing a series of test launches planned in Europe.
Founder and CEO of Silent Arrow, Chip Yates, stated that “the A400M is the perfect platform for deploying multiple UAS in tactical supply, electronic warfare and humanitarian disaster relief operations.” Yates emphasized that the company hopes to achieve certification for deployment from this aircraft, as it would be a milestone for the program.