Mach Industries Wins Pentagon Contract to Develop Long-Range Unmanned Aircraft

Mach Industries won a Defense Innovation Unit contract to develop the Atlas long-range unmanned aircraft for the Navy's Runway Independent Maritime Expeditionary Strike program, @zerohedge reported. The aircraft will conduct strikes from expeditionary sites with minimal infrastructure or from ships without conventional runways.

Atlas features a hybrid-electric propulsion system, runway-independent operations, a 1,000-pound payload capacity, and a 1,400-nautical-mile range.

Mach Industries will integrate the platform with Whisper Aero's JetFoil propulsion technology. The design allows operations from unimproved landing zones while retaining fixed-wing control characteristics. The Department of the Navy seeks such systems to support distributed operations in contested environments.

Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Emil Michael has identified contested logistics as a Pentagon priority in recent House Armed Services Committee testimony. Atlas reduces launch and recovery infrastructure needs through a redundant propulsion architecture and lower part count.

"Mach's speed to prototype and production, coupled with Whisper Aero's novel aerodynamics and propulsion makes Atlas a revolutionary air mobility platform," said Nathan Diller, President and Chief Strategy Officer at Mach Industries.

Whisper Aero's JetFoil technology generates lift and thrust more efficiently than traditional methods, extending range and enabling confined-location operations. "We developed JetFoil to propel the next generation of conventional, short, and vertical takeoff and landing aircraft silently and efficiently," said Mark Moore, CEO of Whisper Aero.