The War Zone has reported:

Sikorsky has introduced a containerized deployment package that places four Nomad 100 vertical takeoff and landing uncrewed aircraft and their support equipment inside a standard 20-foot shipping container. The company says the Nomad 100 Fast Pack is intended to establish autonomous air capabilities quickly at locations without runways or conventional support infrastructure, then move the system to another site when needed.

The concept was unveiled October 12 at the Association of the U.S. Army’s main annual convention in Washington, D.C. Sikorsky is presenting it as a response to military demand for uncrewed systems that can operate across dispersed locations, including in a potential large-scale conflict with China in the Indo-Pacific.

Ramsey Bentley, Sikorsky Advanced Concepts director, said commanders are seeking systems for austere environments. “Military commanders are asking for capability that enables them to deploy worldwide into austere environments,” he said at the convention. Bentley said those commanders want better situational awareness, the ability to target and deliver effects at range, and the capacity to control several assets at the same time.

The Fast Pack container carries four aircraft, mission-command equipment, communications systems, power systems and sustainment supplies. Sikorsky’s promotional video depicts one of the company’s Black Hawk helicopters moving the container into a combat theatre as a slung load. The package is designed for runway-independent use from naval vessels, tactical vehicle staging areas and improvised landing zones.

Sikorsky says two Nomad 100s can be prepared for flight “out of the box” in less than 15 minutes. The other two aircraft are stored on an upper shelf in the container and can be made available within four to six hours, according to the company.

The aircraft combines vertical takeoff and landing with a transition to fixed-wing flight, allowing it to operate from confined locations while drawing on airplane-like range and endurance. Bentley described the aircraft’s flight profile this way: “What is very unique about this aircraft is it’s able to roll over on its wing and also fly like an airplane,” he said. “So you’re getting the vertical takeoff and landing capability, along with the endurance, range, and speed of a fixed-wing aircraft.”

Sikorsky lists endurance of 10 to 14 hours, depending on the payload, a range exceeding 800 nautical miles, and a cruising speed of 70 miles per hour. Its dash speed is 90 miles per hour. Bentley said the aircraft can operate for more than 10 hours on 10 gallons of fuel. “Ten gallons of fuel provides over 10 plus hours of operation, so it’s a very efficient system,” he said.

The Nomad’s hybrid-electric drivetrain uses combustion engines to drive a generator, which supplies power to the rotors and mission systems. It is designed to use several fuels, including JP-8, JP-4 and Jet A. Bentley said the hybrid-electric arrangement reduces maintenance requirements by emphasizing line-replaceable units rather than more extensive traditional aviation maintenance.

The aircraft can carry a 60-pound mission payload, including medical equipment. Its modular centre fuselage can be configured as a cargo bay or adapted to carry other mission equipment. Sikorsky says customer configuration can enable intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting, light attack or contested logistics missions.

A Nomad 100 displayed at the convention is fitted with a forward-looking infrared sensor turret with laser designation capability and four small Hatchet glide munitions made by Northrop Grumman. Other potential payloads listed by Sikorsky include electro-optical and infrared sensors, synthetic aperture radar, launched effects and electronic warfare systems for jamming.

The aircraft’s combination of long-range flight and a small logistical footprint could support expeditionary forces, according to the company’s stated use cases. A cargo configuration could deliver supplies without a runway or a crewed helicopter, while sensor-equipped aircraft could conduct reconnaissance and designate targets. Other versions could carry weapons or release additional uncrewed systems.

The Fast Pack uses Sikorsky’s MATRIX autonomy technology to reduce the work required of operators. Sikorsky says an operator can assign a mission using a tablet interface, after which the aircraft performs the flight autonomously rather than requiring continuous piloting. Bentley said the MATRIX system has accumulated more than 1,000 flight hours.

“Now, Matrix autonomy is a very mature autonomy capability. We’ve had over 1,000 flight hours on Matrix,” Bentley said. He described an operator selecting a mission, such as reconnaissance, marking a location on a map and starting the flight. “For the operator, very simply, he pulls up the display. He selects a mission, say reconnaissance, and then the operator would select a point on the map where he wants that reconnaissance to occur, and then he hits start,” Bentley said. “The aircraft Matrix autonomy takes care of everything else along the flight.”

After the mission starts, MATRIX manages engine start, preflight checks, launch, navigation and mission execution. Bentley said it can adjust to environmental and tactical changes, using onboard sensors to navigate and avoid obstacles, including hazards near landing areas. He said the goal is to reduce operator workload. “Our whole approach here with the advanced Matrix autonomy is: How do we take the workload off the operator?” he said. “This is not remotely piloted, although you could do that. Our approach here is that this is fully autonomous.”

The communications design is network-agnostic. Bentley identified Starlink or Starshield for beyond-line-of-sight connectivity in the current configuration, as well as tactical mobile ad-hoc networking equipment for line-of-sight communications.

MATRIX is also used in other Sikorsky autonomy projects, including the fully uncrewed U-Hawk drone and the company’s optionally piloted Black Hawk concept. Sikorsky says a shared tablet interface could allow operators to manage different autonomous aircraft without separate control systems for each type.

The Nomad 100 originated under the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s EVADE program, which sought to develop a vertical-lift uncrewed aircraft capability. Bentley said two customers associated with the program had placed initial orders, while domestic and international customers had expressed additional interest.

Sikorsky holds an EVADE contract for three Nomad 100s. The company said in July that the first aircraft had been delivered to the customer and that the second was entering flight testing at the time of the interview. Bentley also told Army Times that the U.S. Marine Corps is buying two Nomad 100s.

The company is developing a larger model, the Nomad 500, with greater payload capacity, longer range and increased power output. Bentley said one Nomad 500 can fit in a 20-foot container, while three can be transported in a 40-foot container. The largest aircraft in the family, the Nomad 1000, needs a 40-foot container for one aircraft.

Sikorsky has also said Nomad aircraft can be transported by truck or trailer, and that a smaller package could potentially allow an aircraft to self-deploy. The company is developing containerized deployment concepts for larger members of the Nomad family as well.

The Fast Pack concept reflects a wider effort to make autonomous aircraft easier to deploy and sustain as military forces spread across larger operating areas. Its container combines several aircraft with the equipment needed to operate them in a relocatable package, a design aimed at forces facing long distances, limited infrastructure and vulnerable fixed bases, particularly in the Indo-Pacific.