Silent Arrow, which makes cargo delivery drones for military and humanitarian uses, has received a $1.25 million U.S. Air Force contract to develop and test-fly its next model.
The CLS-300 one-way drone will deliver 1,000 pounds of cargo at distances ranging from 345 miles to 575 miles in risky and hostile environments, using its own motor power and propeller to greatly increase its usefulness.
“It’s great to see product line growth driven directly by the emerging needs of today’s warfighter,” Silent Arrow founder and CEO Chip Yates told the Business Journal on Oct. 31.
The aircraft is designed for loitering, meaning it can stay aloft for a while before setting down its payload.
“We look forward to building on our Phase I propulsion test success as we prepare a number of full-scale aircraft for flight tests in the third quarter and fourth quarter of 2025,” Yates said.
The initial Phase I contract was announced in late 2023.
Like the first one, the Phase II contract was awarded by AFWERX, the innovation arm of the Air Force. It is a Small Business Innovation Research contract.
CLS-300 is a scaled-up version of Silent Arrow’s GD-2000 heavy-lift resupply and lift glider drone, which can airdrop from military transport aircraft including the C-17 Globemaster III.
Gliders, Powered Versions
“We started Silent Arrow here in Orange County back in 2015 and developed a line of small, medium and large resupply gliders, and now, we are moving into powered platforms with 500-mile range and loitering capabilities,” CEO Yates said.
Silent Arrow first partnered with the U.S. Air Force in 2021 to supply the GD-2000 for the service, industry website The Defense Post said.
The following year, the firm tested the GD-2000’s functions for the US military in a foreign deployment, where the drone carried undisclosed equipment weighing more than its supposed maximum payload, according to The Defense Post.
The GD-2000 is already in mass production, while the company’s product line offers five different models of cargo drones. Silent Arrow’s sites include a European production location in the U.K.
The drones can be used to deliver practically anything from batteries to water, food and vaccines, and are meant to replace old-fashioned parachute drops.
