Sikorsky has unveiled a containerized package that puts four Nomad 100 vertical-takeoff-and-landing uncrewed aircraft, mission equipment and sustainment supplies inside a single 20-foot shipping container.
The company presented the Nomad 100 Fast Pack on October 12 at the Association of the U.S. Army convention in Washington, D.C., pitching it as a way to establish autonomous air capability at locations without runways or conventional support infrastructure. The War Zone reported on the concept.
The package is designed to be transported by truck, trailer or helicopter and then moved again as needed. Sikorsky’s promotional material shows a Black Hawk carrying the container as a slung load. The company says two Nomad 100s can be prepared for flight in less than 15 minutes, while the two aircraft stored on the container’s upper shelf would become available within four to six hours.
Those figures are company claims associated with the Fast Pack concept; the source does not document an operational deployment or an independent demonstration of the stated timelines. Sikorsky also describes the system as suitable for naval vessels, tactical vehicle staging areas and improvised landing zones.
The Nomad 100 itself combines vertical takeoff and landing with fixed-wing flight. Sikorsky cites 10 to 14 hours of endurance, depending on payload, a range exceeding 800 nautical miles, and a cruising speed of 70 miles per hour. The aircraft can carry a 60-pound mission payload, which the company says could include medical supplies, sensors, electronic-warfare equipment or other mission systems.
Its hybrid-electric drivetrain uses combustion engines to drive a generator supplying power to the rotors and onboard systems. Sikorsky says the aircraft can use JP-8, JP-4 or Jet A fuel. Potential missions include intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting, light attack and contested logistics. A Nomad displayed at the convention carried a forward-looking infrared turret with laser-designation capability and four Northrop Grumman Hatchet glide munitions.
The Fast Pack is also intended to reduce the personnel needed to operate the aircraft. Sikorsky says its MATRIX autonomy system allows an operator to select a mission and destination on a tablet, after which the system manages engine start, preflight checks, launch, navigation and mission execution. The company says MATRIX has accumulated more than 1,000 flight hours, but the source provides no independent assessment of its autonomy performance in contested or degraded communications environments.
Sikorsky says the package can use Starlink or Starshield for beyond-line-of-sight connectivity, alongside tactical mobile ad-hoc networking for line-of-sight communications. The Nomad 100 originated under DARPA’s EVADE program. Sikorsky has a contract for three aircraft under that effort, and the company says two customers associated with the program have placed initial orders. The available reporting identifies the Fast Pack as a company concept and does not establish that the full four-aircraft containerized system has entered service.