Sabrewing Cargo Drone Announced for Airforce

Example of a heavy lift cargo drone built for the US Air Force.

Sabrewing Cargo Drone Rises to Air Force Challenge
The Rhaegal cargo drone pivots to new possible military missions under a U.S. Air Force contract

By Jeremy Hsu

Sabrewing Plans a Cargo Drone That Can Detect and Avoid Obstacles

Named after an old-English word for a type of dragon, the Rhaegal-A won’t be making its mark by burninating the countryside. Instead the electric cargo drone capable of taking off and landing like a helicopter is in the spotlight today during a U.S. Air Force conference about “flying car” technologies.

The drone’s planned Friday roll-out, which will not include any flights, marks a new step for Sabrewing, a startup based in Camarillo, Calif., after it became the first recipient of a contract awarded through the Air Force’s Agility Prime program. Once conditions allow for its first flight tests at Edwards Air Force Base, the Rhaegal-A drone could undergo Agility Prime demonstrations to test capabilities such as detecting and avoiding potential collisions, operating without GPS signals, and performing medical evacuations of simulated battlefield casualties.

“Typically a battlefield is maybe 50 nautical miles away, and we're able to make it there in 15 minutes as opposed to 30 minutes in a standard helicopter,” says Ed De Reyes, the chief executive of Sabrewing. “So we could, in theory, have all the casualties back within that golden hour and potentially save a lot of lives.”

Some U.S. military helicopters and aircraft used in medical evacuations can fly at speeds comparable to the Sabrewing drone’s 230-mph (370-kph) top speed. But the drone’s advantage could come from a potentially lower price tag and the capability to perform more dangerous medical evacuations under enemy fire without exposing crewed helicopters or aircraft.

The Rhaegal-A drone relies on four ducted fans powered by electric motors that receive electricity from a  turbine. That enables it to carry up to 2,700 pounds (1,225 kg) when performing vertical takeoff and landing like a helicopter, and up to 5,000 pounds (2,268 kg) when taking off and landing from a runway like an aircraft. Such lifting capacity is more than sufficient to meet the U.S. Air Force’s requirements for evacuations.  ... "