When Amazon, UPS, and other companies are exploring the use of drones to deliver express parcels to people, some companies have a bigger dream—unmanned cargo planes.
They are designing unmanned cargo aircraft that resemble small aircraft sizes and are vying for market share with short-haul trucks and small cargo planes. This large fixed-wing unmanned cargo aircraft prototype is being tested and will play an important role in the next wave of logistics. David Merrill, founder of prototype manufacturer Elroy Air, said: “The logistics landscape has been changing, and only faster, more flexible companies can become winners.” Federal Express, UPS and investors There has been a strong interest in such emerging industries. They believe that unmanned freighters will take the lead in reshaping the freight business. James Martell, general manager and investor of a large logistics company, said: “When I was thinking about investment logistics, the unmanned cargo plane gave me a lot of space.” James Martell himself also owns a regional air cargo company Ameriflight At the same time, he is also a consultant of Elroy Air. He also said that the driverless freighter company will be one of the first groups to operate autonomous commercial aircraft. Part of the reason is that driverless cargo planes do not fly in densely populated urban areas, and safety concerns are not as high. Another cargo drone company, Sabrewing, also said it hopes to unlock the economic potential of unmanned cargo. It plans to build a small aircraft model to participate in the Pacific Drone Challenge.
The competition was initiated by Japanese drone company iRobotics to stimulate technology development and attract investors to unmanned aerial vehicles. Ed De Reyes, co-founder and president of Sabrewing, said: “The purpose of the Pacific Drone Challenge is to show the industry and the public that unmanned aerial vehicles are not limited to toy size, they have long range endurance and Economically efficient, able to serve traditional industries, such as air cargo.” A report issued by the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and Avascent Consulting predicts that early adopters will use short-haul in the United States within 7 to 13 years. Freight drones operate scheduled flights. These flights will fly at low altitudes as well as in rural areas. Unmanned long-haul shipments may appear around 15 years from now. However, the report also pointed out that there are still many obstacles to overcome before container-sized drones enter the sky. Communications, aerospace electronics and sensing technologies all need to be improved. Network security issues need to be addressed and the regulatory environment must change.
Electronic Component Resource 