Kaman and Lockheed Martin continue to expand the missions being flown by the unmanned K-Max helicopter at the Army’s Yuma, Ariz., Proving Ground. The helicopter recently made multiple guided airdrops at 10,000 feet msl. The 16 payloads airdropped included medical equipment, food, simulated leaflets and bulk cargo and were programmed by the GPS-guided Joint Precision Delivery System (JPADS) or triggered from a remote ground control station. The drops included payloads up to 4,400 pounds and included JPADS systems from a sling load, a HALO (High Altitude Low Opening) parachute system to deliver simulated leaflets, and a non-line-of-sight ability to dynamically re-task sling load JPADS ground target points. The final flight test consisted of four 64-foot diameter parachutes with A22 containers, airdropped in two- to three-second intervals at 60 -knots airspeed from an altitude of 2,000 feet agl. The 1,100-pound containers landed on target. The unmanned K-Max has been flying since 2007. The manned K-Max has accumulated more than 250,000 flight hours, conducting repetitive lift operations for the construction and logging industries worldwide.
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