Meet World’s Largest UAV

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A large unmanned aircraft that can launch small rockets while flying will also be able to deliver cargo and host intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance payloads. The dual-use UAV was developed by Aevum, a company that only recently came out of stealth mode.

The Ravn X drone is an 80-foot aircraft that can launch small payloads into low Earth orbit from midair. It is defined by the company as the largest drone in the world by mass, with a gross takeoff weight of 55,000 pounds. But the company said it has secured a new patent that will allow it to rapidly reconfigure its drone for multiple missions, including autonomously delivering cargo or carrying sensor payloads.

This multipurpose drone could be a drastic change from single-use or single-mission drones that the military has typically invested in. While the military RQ-4 Global Hawk, used for ISR missions, can swap out payloads, those payloads are different types of sensors to help it complete its ISR tasks. Ravn X will be able to carry sensor payloads, but it can also be rapidly reconfigured for other missions, including delivering cargo to a forward operating base. Also, Ravn X can carry 15,000 pounds of payload. A Global Hawk can carry 3,000 pounds. Aevum doesn’t expect Ravn X to replace the dedicated mission drones the U.S. currently relies on, but to provide a new modular option that can overcome several logistics challenges.

Ravn X’s first mission will be the Space Force’s ASLON-45 mission, a $5 million contract to test the company’s ability to launch a payload in 24 hours or less. Aevum was one of eight companies to win a $986 million indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract for Orbital Services Program-4, a DoD effort to use the commercial launch market to put small payloads on orbit.