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Experimenting with Tactical Drone Resupply at DIRT Days

U.S. Army National Guard Spc. John Lusher, a transportation management coordinator, assigned to 2nd Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group, secures a packaged load onto the Tactical Resupply Vehicle 150 (TRV) as part of the Driving Innovation in Realistic Training (DIRT) Days exercise, April 20, 2023, at Fola, W. Va.  (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Raymond Valdez, 40th Public Affairs Detachment)

 

Soldiers test and evaluate drone resupply vehicle 

During the most recent DIRT Days event, seven Soldiers (three from the West Virginia Army National Guard and four from the 82nd Airborne Division) participated in experimentation and training with Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) designed for a small unit, tactical resupply known as the Tactical Resupply Vehicle (TRV).

Developers from the DEVCOM Army Research Laboratory evaluated the hypothesis that Soldiers with non-aviation backgrounds could learn to fly the drone in a reasonable time, less than two weeks. The seven individuals learned to fly and received certification to operate resupply UAVs that can handle payloads of up to 150 pounds within just three days.

These seven Soldiers learned to fly and received certification to operate resupply UAVs that can handle payloads of up to 150 pounds within just three days. Congratulations to Soldiers from the West Virginia National Guard 2nd Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group: SGT Logan Chapman, SPC John Lusher, and SPC Christopher Kerns; and from the 82nd Airborne Division, Gainey Company: CPT William Shifflett, SSG Andrell Howard, CW2 Emmanuel Ortiz, and 1LT Kayla Bryant. (Photo: Aly Gregg, CMI2)

The design for the tactical resupply UAVs is organic to the lower echelon ground elements as a means to autonomously resupply small units over the last tactical mile in austere environments with limited or no transportation infrastructure. 

Timothy Vong, Tactical UAS Special Projects Lead, said, “The intended use is to carry payload” to specific destinations within the combat radius, providing technology to the tactical commander’s ability for simple resupply. 

TRV DIRT Days Demonstration
U.S. Army National Guard Spc. Chris Kerns, a parachute rigger, assigned to 2nd Battalion, 19th Special Forces Group, secures a parachute onto the Tactical Resupply Vehicle 150 (TRV). (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Raymond Valdez, 40th Public Affairs Detachment)

 

VIDEO

Timothy V. Vong, a tactical UAS special projects lead, U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command, discusses the Tactical Resupply Vehicle 150 (TRV) capabilities on April 19, 2023, at Fola, W. VA. The TRV was utilized for a media demonstration during the DIRT Days (U.S. Army Video by Sgt. Raymond Valdez, 40th Public Affairs Detachment)

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