Elroy Air has added three unattended cargo delivery modes to its Chaparral drone developed under a US Army contract, expanding autonomous resupply options for military logistics.
The company said the system can now deliver payloads through precision airdrops while hovering, precision airdrops during forward flight, and autonomous ground delivery.
During a demonstration at Elroy Air’s headquarters in Byron, California, the aircraft completed two deliveries in a single flight. It first released a 68-pound (30.8-kilogram) payload while hovering before dropping a 70-pound (31.7-kilogram) payload from 65 feet (19.8 meters) during forward flight.
Both deliveries were executed using pre-programmed coordinates without operator input. Elroy Air also demonstrated an unattended ground delivery in which the aircraft landed and released its cargo without personnel present.
“The army asked us for these unattended delivery capabilities, and we developed them on time and on budget in a single autonomous aircraft,” said Elroy Air CEO Andrew Clare.
Chaparral is designed as a vertical takeoff and landing cargo aircraft with swappable cargo pods that allow a single platform to perform different missions without modifying the airframe. The aircraft can deliver supplies in locations where landing is impractical or where stopping could expose military positions.
Elroy Air said the new capabilities will be incorporated into production aircraft that will be built by Kratos Defense & Security Solutions under the companies’ manufacturing partnership.
US Expands Autonomous Logistics Programs
The US military has increased investments in autonomous logistics as it prepares to sustain forces in contested environments with fewer personnel and less reliance on traditional supply chains.
Earlier this month, the US Army selected AM General, American Rheinmetall, Carnegie Robotics, HDT Robotics, and Stratom to develop medium-sized autonomous robotic vehicles under Project Sustainment, an effort to automate battlefield resupply while reducing soldiers’ exposure to high-risk logistics missions.
In April, Overland AI demonstrated its autonomous ULTRA ground vehicles during a major army training rotation, where they operated alongside brigade units and reduced contested logistics delivery times by about half.
The effort follows Sikorsky’s October 2025 unveiling of the autonomous S-70 U-Hawk, a modified UH-60L Black Hawk equipped with MATRIX autonomy technology for uncrewed logistics, drone deployment, and extended-endurance missions.
