70 In May this year, AUVSI’s Xponential event returned to Denver for the first time in 5 years, the halls of its Colorado Convention Center playing host to hundreds of companies unveiling a fresh wave of innovations pushing the limits of uncrewed vehicles and technologies. Here is the first of our two-part selection of them. Among the largest static vehicle displays in the expo hall was the Kargo UAV from Kaman Air Vehicles. Its primary mission is to provide military and commercial logistics support. For military customers, the Kargo provides a low-cost, risk-worthy Kaman Aerospace’s Kargo logistics support UAV alternative to manned flight operations in contested environments. For commercial customers, it serves as an economical platform that can conduct cyclic, reduced-risk operations during bad weather or at night. “Its total weight is about 2800 lb [1270 kg], and its cargo capacity makes up to 800 lb [362.87 kg] of that,” said Barry Maxwell. “The cargo system is configurable such that freight can be flown in a conformal pod or carried as an external sling load.” While Kaman is focused on cargo operations, the Kargo’s large payload capacity can support a host of other mission-specific payloads. Its fuselage consists largely of a composite shell around a lightweight aluminium structure, with the pod fitted underneath between two landing skids. A gas turbine powers the UAV’s mechanical propulsion architecture, with the four rotors mounted above the fuselage on an X-shaped set of arms. It is designed to carry a 90 kg payload for up to 390 nautical miles in 3.3 hours, or a 272 kg payload up to 143 nautical miles for 1.2 hours. Rory Jacksonpresents highlights from this major uncrewed systems show, which this year paid a return visit to Denver Notes fromthe Mile-HighCity June/July 2023 | Uncrewed Systems Technology
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