United States-based aerospace company Kaman unveiled on September 21, 2021, its new medium-lift autonomous drone, KARGO, for logistics and cargo operations. 

The KARGO Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) will be able to carry out cargo hauling in its conformal pod or external sling load configuration. The UAV can be deployed automatically because of its autonomous system design and can carry payloads up to 800 pounds. (362.8 kilograms). 

Kaman intends to conduct a full-scale flight-testing of the KARGO autonomous drone by 2022 after validating the vehicle design over the past six months. 

“We are extremely excited to provide this advanced, game-changing technology to the market and leverage Kaman’s 75 years as a pioneer in aerospace and defense,” said Darlene Smith, Kaman Air Vehicle’s president. “Our vision is to propel our customers forward by imagining and delivering highly engineered products that solve our customer’s toughest problems.”

Kaman is collaborating with United States-based robotics and aerospace company Near Earth Autonomy for its pilot KARGO UAV program. Near Earth is providing expertise and solutions for obstacle avoidance and other technologies such as precision landing, sense and avoid, and navigation in a GPS-denied environment.