Automated flights Automated Cargo Deliveries 

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FAULHABER Drive Systems

Reliable Robotics, a leader in autonomous aircraft systems, recently completed a series of automated cargo missions across California and Nevada airfields for the US Department of the Air Force. Automated flights included autotaxi, autotakeoff, en-route navigation and autolanding.

In collaboration with the US Air Combat Command, the company demonstrated its aircraft automation capabilities during the Agile Flag 24-3 exercise. The missions, spanning several hundred miles between military bases and airports, showcased the agility and readiness required for operations in the Indo-Pacific region.

“The Air Force has a unique opportunity to redefine efficiency through autonomous operations, which can enable persistent maneuver in contested environments and simultaneous cargo delivery instead of our current sequential system. Autonomy in small platforms reduces risk and opens up the ability to land in more places including damaged runways or unimproved surfaces,” said Colonel Max Bremer, Mobility COE Senior Advisor, Chief of Special Programs Division, Air Mobility Command. “Military exercises like Agile Flag provide a venue for us to more closely evaluate how technologies like autonomous systems operate in real missions.”

Managed by Reliable’s Remote Pilot 

Automated flights of a Cessna 208B Caravan included autotaxi, autotakeoff, en-route navigation and autolanding. All flights were managed by Reliable’s remote pilot while an onboard pilot monitored. Reliable deployed a mobile control station onsite at Mojave Air and Space Port, which served as a base of operations for the military exercise. The rapid deployment of Reliable’s mobile control station enabled onsite demonstrations of the remote piloting side of the operation for Air Force and NASA personnel. 

Over the weeklong exercise, Reliable flew to eight locations, transporting essential cargo. All flights were expedited and scheduled “on-demand,” and did not require deployment of any additional infrastructure for automated flight, demonstrating the additional utility and flexibility automation can provide. Preparation for the exercise required obtaining military airworthiness and flight safety approvals for expanded operations from the U.S. Air Force.
 NASA Armstrong executive leadership came to observe Reliable’s Agile Flag operations at Mojave. “We are excited to see the dual-use automation system Reliable has developed for commercial and defense customers,” said Brad Flick, Center Director at NASA Armstrong Flight Research Center. “It’s good to see the maturity of their technology.”

According to the company, Reliable has the only FAA-accepted certification plan for full aircraft automation, and continues to make certification progress. The safety-enhancing automation system features redundancy, high integrity navigation and an “always on” autopilot that is engaged through all phases of aircraft operation. The system is aircraft-agnostic—Reliable has remotely flown two different airframes uncrewed in civilian airspace, a Cessna 172 in 2019 and a Cessna 208B Caravan in 2023.