{"id":4354,"date":"2026-04-20T19:25:25","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T19:25:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/4354\/"},"modified":"2026-04-20T19:25:25","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T19:25:25","slug":"fw-mag-future-warfare-magazine-shownews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/netherlands\/4354\/","title":{"rendered":"FW-MAG Future Warfare Magazine – shownews"},"content":{"rendered":"

Airbus US Space and Defense\u00a0announced\u00a0on 15 April<\/a>\u00a0the\u00a0fourth\u00a0autonomous flight test\u00a0of an\u00a0H145 helicopter. Prior to the Sea Air Space expo, which will take place at the National Harbor, close to Washington, DC, on 20-22 April,\u00a0FW MAG\u00a0spoke with Carl Forsling,\u00a0Senior Director for Strategy and Business Development\u00a0at Airbus, about this new test and how the company\u2019s autonomous\u00a0rotary-wing aircraft\u00a0can assist the US armed forces, particularly the Marines.<\/p>\n

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The recent test flights took place at the Airbus facility in Grand Prairie, Texas, and \u201cfocused on refining the aircraft\u2019s perception system\u201d to ensure the platform will provide \u201caccurate, real-time information to an autonomous pilot ensuring obstacles are avoided within a landing zone,\u201d the company explained in\u00a0a press release<\/a>. The helicopter autonomously evaluated a landing zone, detected potential obstacles, and rerouted to an alternate site if needed.<\/p>\n

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Airbus is teaming up with\u00a0L3Harris, Shield AI, and\u00a0Parry Labs\u00a0to develop this autonomous platform. The company is in the second year of the Aerial Logistics Connector Middle Tier of Acquisition (MTA) Rapid Prototyping Program. In May 2024, Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) awarded Airbus US Space & Defense a Phase I Other Transaction Authority (OTA) through the Naval Aviation Systems Consortium for the future\u00a0MQ-72C Lakota Connector<\/a>\u00a0platform. Forsling explained that the MTA-RP requires Airbus (and partners) to produce an operational capability within 60 months, meaning by the spring of 2029: \u201cwe\u2019re confident we can do that,\u201d he explained to\u00a0FW MAG.<\/p>\n

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A small clarification is required: the\u00a0H145 helicopter\u00a0(which carried out the recent autonomous flight test) is the commercial version of the\u00a0UH-72\u00a0LAKOTA\u00a0helicopter. The LAKOTA CONNECTOR will be the uncrewed variant of the LAKOTA.<\/p>\n

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Forsling explained to\u00a0FW MAG\u00a0that the company, along with its partners, is carrying out both demonstrations and tests. \u201cIn both 2024 and 2025, we did demonstration events with the\u00a0Marine Corps, where we deployed an\u00a0H145D3\u00a0helicopter to Marine bases to perform operationally representative tasks with various cargoes,\u201d the executive noted. More demonstration events will follow, as the \u201cprototyping effort continues,\u201d and they \u201cwill incorporate higher levels of autonomy and be more integrated with real-world scenarios.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Meanwhile, Airbus and its partners are carrying out an \u201caggressive flight test program. Since last June, we\u2019ve done four major series of flight tests.\u201d The executive highlighted that \u201cin each round, we\u2019ve added increased capability in terms of systems integration and autonomy.\u201d<\/p>\n

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The program’s basic idea is to develop a\u00a0heavy-duty helicopter drone\u00a0capable of carrying a variety of\u00a0heavy cargo\u00a0(joint intermodal modular containers and ordnance containers) for missions across different environments, including\u00a0ship-to-shore\u00a0(and vice versa),\u00a0ship-to-ship, and\u00a0shore-based missions. Forsling added that \u201cwe\u2019ve prioritized the logistics mission because that is essential to the success of\u00a0Marine Corps Expeditionary Advanced Base Operation\u201d. However, the system is very \u201cversatile\u201d and can be utilized for other missions, such as the delivery of\u00a0other uncrewed aerial systems, launched effects\u00a0(electronic warfare, sonobuoys, or ISR systems), search and rescue, and casualty evacuation\/medical evacuation.<\/p>\n

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Forsling declined to discuss with\u00a0FW MAG\u00a0exactly how much cargo the LAKOTA CONNECTOR can carry, but stated that it \u201cexceeds the requirements\u201d identified by the USMC. Airbus is confident the platform is ideal for\u00a0expeditionary missions\u00a0as it is affordable to build and to maintain in quantity, making it risk worthy; moreover, the platform requires \u201cfar less maintenance than any other helicopter in the military\u2019s fleet,\u201d and minimal training is necessary for a human operator to operate it, the company told\u00a0FW MAG.<\/p>\n

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Logistics\u00a0and\u00a0supply chains\u00a0can determine the victor or loser of a battle. Supplying\u00a0frontline troops\u00a0with\u00a0ammo, food & water, medical supplies, and other equipment is critical to maintain the\u00a0momentum of a mission. Crewed helicopters or air drops from fixed-wing aircraft are the standard aerial options for supporting expeditionary missions when land (or maritime) routes are unavailable, but aircraft crews are at risk in either case. Hence, the development of an expendable helicopter drone capable of transporting heavy cargo to support frontline troops (or other ships) is a rational idea and can be a game-changer in how logistics operations are carried out.<\/p>\n

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Anecdotally, on 15 April,\u00a0the US military<\/a>\u00a0announced that a two-week series of shipboard tests of the\u00a0TRV-150C tactical resupply drone<\/a>\u00a0(produced by Survice) was carried out aboard an amphibious transport dock ship, including launch and recovery, with a focus on\u00a0ship-integration efforts. The goal of having a resupply drone aboard a ship, to support other ships or troops on land, moves forward.<\/p>\n

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Follow us on\u00a0Telegram<\/a>,\u00a0Facebook<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0X<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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