Marines Tap Kaman For Robot Helicopter

Kaman Corp.’s single-seat K-Max helicopter won’t even need that one seat for a new demonstration project underwritten by the U.S. Marine Corps. for use in Afghanistan.

Under an $864,000 contract, the Helicopters Division of Kaman Aerospace Corp., based in Bloomfield, will demonstrate that an unmanned version of the K-Max has the ability to deliver cargo to troops in “extreme environments and at high altitudes,” according to Kaman Chairman and CEO Neal J. Keating.

Kaman is teaming with Maryland-based Lockheed Martin on the project, according to Keating’s contract announcement.

Kaman will award a subcontract to Lockheed Martin to integrate its unmanned aerial system into the K-Max, which Kaman calls an “aerial truck,” due to its use in forestry operations and other commercial applications.

The project will demonstrate the unmanned helicopter’s capability to deliver cargo over a round trip distance of 150 miles, Keating said. The Marine Corps’ overall objective is to move 20,000 pounds in a 24-hour period, he said.

The demonstration is scheduled for late this year, according to Keating, who said the demonstration stems from the Marine Corps Systems Command’s requirement for a cargo-hauling unmanned aircraft “that can support rapid deployments to Afghanistan by resupplying troops with provisions and materials at forward operating bases.”

Those tasks currently are done by ground convoys and manned aircraft, he said

“We believe the (K-Max) aircraft is uniquely qualified for the resupply mission to take our troops off the roads and pilots out of the air in Afghanistan,” Keating said.

The Marine contract gives a needed boost to the K-Max program, which started in 1994, but gradually experienced waning business over the years. In 2002, Kaman announced that because of a dearth of business, the company decided it would produce new K-Max helicopters only when it receives a firm order from a customer.

The K-Max was designed and built for “repetitive lift operations in severe environments,” according to company background information and is operated primarily by the logging and construction industries.

In addition to helicopters, Kaman Corp. produces bearings and other parts for commercial, military, and general aviation aircraft, as well as arming apparatus for missile and bomb systems for the U.S. and allied militaries.