Autonomous Drones Proved Themselves in Army Ammo Resupply Tests. Now, the XVIII Airborne Wants In
A group of quadcopter carrying ammunition and water land in a field to resupply soldiers from the Army’s Experimental Force, or EXFOR, at Fort Benning, Georgia to resupply soldiers participating in Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment (AEWE) 2021. (U.S. Army)
15 Mar 2021
Army maneuver officials are pushing for additional testing of aerial resupply by autonomous drones which could become a dependable lifeline for delivering ammunition and water to combat units when they need it most.
Soldiers with the service s Experimental Force, or EXFOR, at Fort Benning, Georgia, just completed the Army Expeditionary Warrior Experiment (AEWE) 2021, using commercial autonomous quadcopters to fly ammo for the M240 machine gun, M249 squad automatic weapon and M4A1 carbine to units fresh out of gunfights during the force-on-force portion of the exercise.
US Army taps industry for autonomous drones to resupply troops January 15 A drone carrying a mailbox of Swiss Post flies past July 7, 2015, above the airport of Bellechasse, western Switzerland, during a news conference. Two U.S. armed services are taking steps to acquire an autonomous aerial resupply capability for infantry brigade combat teams. (Fabrice Coffrini/AFP via Getty Images) WASHINGTON The U.S. Army is tapping industry for drones that can deliver supplies to infantry brigade combat teams in the field, according to a request for information posted to the federal contracting website Beta.Sam.Gov on Jan. 13. Army Futures Command’s Sustainment Capabilities Development and Integration Directorate as well as the Marine Corps’ Capabilities Development and Integration office began looking in earnest at a concept called the “Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial Resupply System,” about two years ago with the hope of getting a capabilities development document signed