Unmanned helicopters ferry cargo in Afghanistan

By Slobodan Lekic

KABUL, Afghanistan

The U.S. military is testing a revolutionary new drone for its arsenal, an unmanned helicopter intended to fly cargo missions to remote outposts where frequent roadside bombs threaten access by road convoys.

Surveillance drones for monitoring enemy activity and armed versions for launching airstrikes have become a trademark of America's wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East. But this is the first time a chopper version designed for transport has been used operationally.

Two unmanned models of the Kaman K-MAX helicopters and a team of 16 company technicians and eight Marines are conducting a six-month evaluation of the new craft at Camp Dwyer, a Marine Corps airfield in the Garmsir district of southern Helmand province.

The craft have flown 20 transport missions since the inaugural flight on Dec. 17, said Maj. Kyle O'Connor, the officer in charge of the detachment. They have delivered nearly 18 tons of cargo, mainly thousands of Meals Ready to Eat and spare parts needed at the forward operating bases.

"Afghanistan is a highly mined country and the possibility of improvised explosive devices is always a problem moving cargo overland in a convoy," O'Connor said.

"Every load that we can take off of a ground convoy reduces the danger and risk that our Marines, soldiers, and sailors are faced with," he said.

"With an unmanned helicopter, even the air crew is taken out of harm's way."