Image source: topwar.ru
Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) can be used to deliver cargo to warships in motion. This was once again confirmed by the demonstration of the capabilities of naval aviation of the US Navy.
Several unmanned aerial vehicles delivered cargo weighing 22.68 kg to the Navy ships. Unmanned aerial vehicles of Skyways Air Transportation, Inc. and Martin UAV made flights between ships, as well as between ships and the shore at a distance of more than 370 kilometers.
For successful cargo delivery to ships, it is necessary that the UAVs are capable of vertical takeoff and landing, which will allow them to land and take off from any deck of the ship. Also, their launch should not be too difficult in technical terms.
Logistics issues are becoming increasingly important in the context of the growing competition of powers in the World Ocean. Since American warships operate today in almost all areas of the world's oceans, the use of unmanned aircraft is extremely important for the US Navy.
But now the bulk of the logistical tasks are still assigned to helicopters and tiltrotor aircraft of the US Navy. However, their flights are much more technically complex and expensive than using drones.
The head of the small tactical unmanned aircraft systems program, Colonel Victor Argobright, notes that the US Armed Forces are enthusiastic about the future of unmanned aviation. Now the fleet command determines in which directions unmanned aircraft will have the greatest demand.
