U.S. Navy tested unmanned cargo delivery to a moving ship 370 km away

The U.S. Navy is one step closer to implementing unmanned cargo delivery to ships. The service now uses planes, helicopters and convertibles to do so.

Here's What We Know

The U.S. Navy has tested unmanned delivery. The tests involved cargo drones from Skyways Air Transportation, Inc. and Martin UAV - V2.6B and V-BAT 12B, respectively. They successfully delivered packages weighing up to 50 pounds (22.68 kg) from shore to ship, ship to ship and ship to shore.

The drones had to travel 370 kilometers to get the package to its destination. Drones can take off and land vertically on any ship, and do not require special equipment for launching.

Now the US Navy uses tactical aircraft, Sikorsky H-60 helicopters and V-22 Osprey convertorcraft for cargo delivery. The use of drones will save significantly on delivery costs.

Source: U.S. Navy