Air Force Studies Autonomous Cargo Jets

[Dave Blake]

The Air Force has awarded a contract to Silicon Valley firm Reliable Robotics to study the feasibility of flying its biggest iron autonomously. The company will look at whether it makes sense to fly multi-engine jet cargo planes from gate to gate with a remote pilot monitoring from the ground. For each end of the flight, the company is also looking at having the planes loaded and unloaded with robots, too.

It’s also looking at making the technology available to commercial aviation. “Remotely piloted aircraft will enable the Air Force to increase mission tempo worldwide and leverage a certifiable commercial solution for defense industry needs at fractional costs and extend aircraft capabilities,” Reliable Robotics said in its Feb. 8 2023 announcement.

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[SAX800]

Dave,

I don't know what to think about that... pilotless and remote control.... Telsas haven't done so well in this endeavor or other "autonomous" vehicles like city bus and cab experiments...

[David Vega]

I can see baggage handling done by robots. Still have an issue with having robots fly me around. I still envision walking into a flight deck and seeing blue screens in all the displays.

[airifr]

Don't go there...mankind in force