New Drone Can Load USAF Cargo and Determine Its Center of Gravity All by Itself

Most of the companies currently working on such delivery machines present drones that can fly themselves to where they need to be. Almost all of them, however, require the presence of humans to load the cargo, and even arrange it inside in such a way that it does not disrupt the aircraft's center of gravity.

But what if I told you someone is working on a delivery drone so advanced it can load and unload on its own, and on top of that it will be able to arrange cargo inside its bay also on its own, in a manner it senses it won't be a problem?

I'm not sure how many of you have heard about a company called MightyFly. These guys came together in 2019 in San Francisco to develop autonomous cargo aircraft and save the shipping industry a lot of time and money.

The company's efforts are focused on a drone called Cento, a vertical take-off and landing machine powered by electricity. Supported by eight electric vertical lift fans and a forward propulsion propeller, the carbon fiber-bodied aircraft has been designed to carry 100 lbs (45 kg) of cargo.

This is done inside a cargo bay large enough to accommodate anywhere between 96 and 212 small USPS packages for distances as large as 600 miles (965 km), and at speeds that can reach as much as 150 mph (240 kph).

The last time we heard anything about the MightyFly Cento was in the summer of last year, when the company said it would fly the drone for demonstrative purposes in the state of Michigan.

So far that did not happen, but we do know MightyFly decided to start the new year by showing a new version (the third generation, they call it) of the Cento.

Although design-wise and from the performance point of view the autonomous cargo drone remains largely the same, some upgrades have been made to the way the thing can carry its load.

Aside from getting a slightly larger cargo bay (we're not told by how much, but there was talk a year ago of it being able to carry 500 pounds/227 kg of cargo), the Cento now packs something called the Autonomous Load Mastering System (ALMS). This system lets the aircraft open (and close) the cargo bay doors on its own so that packages can be loaded inside.

Not only that, but the drone will be able to determine on its own the weight and balance of the cargo, so that its flight will not be disturbed.

That's not something we haven't heard about before, but you do have to keep in mind the Cento will do everything above on its own, without any help from humans, not even when it comes to arranging the packages inside the bay.

The technology, not completely detailed, has caught the eye of the U.S. Air Force (USAF). Through the Agility Prime and Air Mobility Command, the military branch is looking at the tech as a potential solution for its "most pressing autonomous aerial logistics needs."

I said earlier that the Cento remains largely the same when it comes to its design, but that doesn't mean some modifications were not performed. The tandem wing design, which allows a large trim of the aircraft center of lift, has been refined. Then, structural conductors and a composite structure were used to reduce weight, and a canard landing gear is now in place as a means to lower drag.

The company says the third-gen Cento will enter qualification tests as soon as February 2024. Later this year, the aforementioned delivery flights are set to debut in Michigan. The autonomous loading, unloading, and balancing of packages will be demonstrated in front of the USAF's top brass in early 2025.

Because the third generation of the drone is now larger than before, and can accommodate a large range of payloads' center of gravity, it has also become ideal to carry more various hardware. Just to give you an idea of what that means, consider the drone can now accommodate stuff the size of the cooler boxes used to transport donor organs.

The drone is, of course, not meant solely for the needs of the military. Because it was primarily designed to serve the civilian sector, it will probably spread like wildfire in the fields of logistics, manufacturing, healthcare, and even automotive. Disaster relief and other emergency response uses are also being considered.

MightyFly does not say how much a Cento drone costs.