PteroDynamics announced the expansion of its contract with the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) to design, develop, and demonstrate in a maritime environment the next generation of its Transwing® VTOL unmanned aerial system (UAS). The additional $4.65 million award is the sixth and most important expansion of the company’s 2021 Blue Water Logistics UAS (BWUAS) prototype contract and calls for a larger aircraft with more robust capabilities than the company’s P4 Transwing VTOL UAS that successfully demonstrated sea trials during last summer’s RIMPAC 2024 Exercise. The new autonomous P5 Transwing UAS aircraft will have a maximum takeoff weight of 330 pounds and a minimum range of 400 nautical miles carrying a 50-pound payload. It is designed to execute long-range tactical ship-to-ship, ship-to-shore, and shore-to-ship deliveries of critical repair cargo in contested maritime environments, currently performed by crewed aircraft.

“Working with NAWCAD since 2019 has enabled PteroDynamics to identify and achieve key performance parameters that make the Transwing a uniquely capable VTOL UAS. This sixth contract expansion is so significant because it calls for the clean-sheet design, build, and demonstration of the next-generation P5 Transwing aircraft that will give the U.S. Navy an effective solution for automated just-in-time delivery of critical repair parts and supplies at sea,” said PteroDynamics CEO Matthew Graczyk. “The size and capabilities of the P5 also hit a sweet spot in what we see in broader market demand, not only for other military branches like the Air Force, but also for commercial, governmental, and public safety operators around the world eager to leverage the key advantages of the Transwing platform.”