Silent Arrow has announced its selection by AFWERX to undertake an SBIR contract dedicated to the Silent Arrow CLS-300, specifically tailored to address a critical challenge within the Department of the Air Force (DAF).
The CLS-300 builds upon the success of the commercially acclaimed Silent Arrow GD-2000, recognized as the world’s inaugural heavy payload, autonomous, and attritable cargo delivery aircraft. Engineered to transport 1,500 lbs. of cargo across 35 nautical miles, this innovative drone can be deployed from cargo aircraft like the Lockheed Martin C-130, Boeing C-17, and Airbus A400M.
Diverging from the glider design of the GD-2000, the new CLS-300 achieves an impressive tenfold increase in travel range. This enhancement is realized by integrating a groundbreaking propulsion unit and propeller system, both cost-effective enough to render the entire cargo drone attritable. Beyond its air-droppable capability, the CLS-300 exhibits versatility by enabling take-offs from diverse settings, including unimproved surfaces, naval vessels, and various launch points.
“We’d like to thank the U.S. Air Force, AFWERX, AFRL, and our Air Force Customer and End-User organizations for their confidence in awarding this disruptive program,” said Chip Yates, Silent Arrow’s Founder and CEO. “We are looking forward to a compressed schedule with propulsion tests in the first half of 2024 followed by flight tests in the second half of 2024 so that we may rapidly deliver this critical capability to warfighters operating in harm’s way as well as to humanitarian and disaster relief organizations serving those in need.” (Press Release)
About Silent Arrow®
The Silent Arrow® product line consists of four sizes of autonomous cargo delivery aircraft capable of carrying 350 to 2,000 pounds of emergency, disaster relief and humanitarian response supplies anywhere in the world on short notice. Silent Arrow’s engineering team has been awarded more than 20 patents, 6 Fédération Aéronautique Internationale (FAI) aircraft world records and 2 FAI Louis Bleriot medals for disruptive contributions to the aerospace industry. In 2021 Silent Arrow® was selected as a finalist for the Robert J. Collier Trophy as the “Greatest Achievement in Aeronautics or Astronautics in America,”. For more information visit www.Silent-Arrow.com.
About AFRL
The Air Force Research Laboratory is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force. AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for our air, space and cyberspace force. With a workforce of more than 12,500 across nine technology areas and 40 other operations across the globe, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development. For more information, visit afresearchlab.com.
About AFWERX
As the innovation arm of the DAF and a directorate within the Air Force Research Laboratory, AFWERX brings cutting-edge American ingenuity from small businesses and start-ups to address the most pressing challenges of the DAF. AFWERX employs approximately 325 military, civilian and contractor personnel at six hubs and sites executing an annual $1.4 billion budget. Since 2019, AFWERX has executed 4,697 contracts worth more than $2.6 billion to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and drive faster technology transition to operational capability. For more information, visit: afwerx.com.
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Post Image Credit: Silent Arrow
