As Amazon moves closer to its vision of having pilotless aerial drones drop packages on its customer’s doorsteps, the US military is considering using the devices to resupply troops in the field.
Drones have been used for more than a decade to spy on enemies and even drop bombs in targeted locations But now the US Army wants them to change the way its soldiers march into battle.
Unmanned Aerial Resupply Vehicles
According to Lt. Col. Jeremy Gottshall, the army is moving toward a lighter, more agile expeditionary force that isn’t burdened with having to carry everything from sleeping bags to medical supplies on their backs. Instead, the Army is developing a joint tactical autonomous resupply system — or JTARS, for short — that could bring everything soldiers need directly to wherever they are from the air.
The Army is asking drone and aerospace companies to develop vehicles that could carry between 300 and 800 lbs of supplies distances of between 12 and 60 miles, said Gottshall, the Army’s Training Doctrine and Command autonomous aerial resupply capability manager at the AUVSI Xponential show in Dallas earlier this month.
The US Marine Corps is also looking for ways to reduce the number of resupply convoys that travel overland, making them easy targets for enemy combatants as well as improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Unmanned helicopters like the Lockheed Martin/Kman K-MAX , which was used by the Marines as a heavy lift vehicle in Afghanistan, are big and expensive to run and maintain.
Resupply drones could also double as reconnaissance scouts, keeping an electronic eye on enemy troop movements as they fly back and forth between a centralized forward operating base and soldiers in the field, Gottshall said.
Cutting Off Supplies an Effective Military Tactic
Keeping soldiers fed, warm, and comfortable is a notoriously difficult task, especially in combat situations. During World War II, many US soldiers on islands throughout the Pacific Theater often had to go for weeks without food, water, and other supplies because of Japanese naval blockades. And in Europe, a lack of a modern road system made keeping supply lines running a continuing problem.
Interrupting an enemy’s supply lines has been an effective military strategy since ancient times. It was a tactic regularly used by Alexander the Great during his conquest of western Asia and southern Europe.
Modern, mid-sized pilotless drones could solve that problem, providing US fighting forces with everything from food, water, ammunition, blood, and everything else they needed, flying at altitudes high above the range of enemy anti-aircraft artillery before alighting into the middle of the forward military encampment.