Earlier this month, Yavne, Israel based Tactical Robotics (a subsidiary of Urban Aeronautics Ltd) successfully performed its first “mission representative” demonstration for its lead customer, the IDF. This milestone was announced at the Israel Combat Rescue and Emergency Medicine conference, where the company also presented Cormorant’s capability as the first UAS system capable of unmanned casualty evacuation missions.
The demonstration took place at Megiddo Airfield in the Galilee and consisted of the unmanned Cormorant aircraft taking off with a load of cargo, performing a pre-planned flight to a specified point of delivery, offloading the cargo, and loading a specialized, medical training manikin simulating a casualty which was then returned to the point of origin.
A monitor supplied by the IDF’s chief surgeon Trauma Branch transmitted vital information to the crews on the ground, in addition to a video camera for two-way communication with the patient. With the exception of the loading of the ‘casualty’ and off-loading of cargo, the entire simulated mission was performed autonomously.
The demonstration, a combination of cargo delivery and casualty evacuation, reflects the Cormorant’s unique dual-role capability as the only UAS recognized by NATO which can fulfill both cargo delivery and CasEvac missions.
As such, the aircraft is designed to exceed the standard reliability and handling qualities required of a typical, tactical UAS in order to meet the requirements to safely ferry human “cargo” back from the battlefield.