Unmanned Helo Wins Defense Contract

Lockheed Martin/Kaman wins contract for joint Army Marines Autonomous Technologies for Unmanned Air Systems (ATUAS) program. From Engadget:

When developing an unmanned vehicle there are two paths to choose from: create an entirely fresh design with no room for a carbon-based pilot, or simply take an existing craft and make it self-sufficient. That’s the direction Lockheed Martin chose for its submission to the the joint Army Marines Autonomous Technologies for Unmanned Air Systems (ATUAS) program, and it turned out to be a winner. The idea is to create an autonomous helo that can resupply military forces, and Lockheed Martin started with a Kaman K-Max cargo chopper (demo’d after the break), capable of lifting 6,000lbs plus one pilot — who was made optional.

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Full article here. More video after the jump.

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