Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky just introduced the Nomad family of drones, a series designed from the ground up for lengthy flights and remote locations. These vehicles rise straight up like helicopters, hover in the air to explore or deliver, and then tilt forward into smooth, rapid glides that lengthen their time aloft.
Lockheed Martin engineers drew on a test flight last March in which a small test model with a 10-foot wingspan demonstrated its ability to stay airborne for hours without trouble. This achievement paved the way for the Nomad program, which is aptly named for these wanderers. Two rotating rotors in front handle the heavy lifting for vertical movements, while wings capture the wind for efficient flight once airborne. Smaller drones run on batteries and fuel for quiet, clean trips, while larger models use traditional gas engines to move more weight over longer distances.
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We start with backpack-sized scouts weighing less than 60 pounds and then move to haulers the size of a Black Hawk. Group 3 versions weigh roughly 1,300 pounds, making them light enough for a single operator to launch on their own. Payloads go beyond that limit in Groups 4 and 5, allowing for cargo drops or sensor arrays. Every size has the same basic features: vertical lift for small spaces, winged speed for traversing ground quickly (up to twice as fast as pure rotors), and enough endurance to hover over a zone for the majority of the day.
These drones are all controlled by MATRIX autonomy software, which allows them to fly alone from launch to landing as a ground team sets targets on the go. This system, developed in collaboration with defense researchers, is compatible with existing equipment—rotors, jets, and even firefighting rigs—without the need for rewiring.
Operators maintain control, overriding when necessary. The military’s feedback influenced the design: they needed vehicles that could land on gravel, hover above waves, and depart quietly into the night. Nomad delivers by blending established components – those twin rotors are Black Hawk DNA – with modern power plants that reduce fuel consumption by utilizing electric boost during climbs.
Reconnaissance is the first of Nomad’s many abilities, as sensors scan the horizon for dangers or lost hikers. Switch to offense, and a minimal loadout transforms it into a precision striker capable of taking off targets from a distance. Logistics shines brightest in tough terrain: imagine contested zones where roads disappear under bombardment, but these drones can transfer packages across the lines or extract the lightly injured.
