Leveraging Sustainable Commercial Aviation Innovation

The US DoD’s Operational Energy Office recently announced funding for the Zero Carbon Logistics Support via Hybrid Aircraft project, involving US Indo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM) and Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) in collaborative development of an air vehicle to enhance logistics, ISR and communications in the Pacific.

“As a logistics officer, the challenges with contested logistics are at the forefront of my mind. After attending a highly productive working group with the INDOPACOM Logistics, Plans, and Exercises Division in November of 2022, we designed this research effort to be able to respond to many of the challenges identified by the cross-functional team. When we reach the second phase, we will be ready to support modeling, simulation, and analysis of the hybrid aircraft in use cases that are defined by any combatant commander, but with a particular eye to contested logistics challenges in INDOPACOM,” explains Capt Ben Cohen, Director of the SoCal Tech Bridge.

The project leverages and adapts sustainable commercial aviation technology, in the form of the HAV Airlander aircraft to change operational concepts and address logistical capability gaps. The lack of existing infrastructure within INDOPACOM limits current asset flexibility for inter/intra-theatre lift, where access to deep water ports and airfields to accommodate appropriate aircraft is limited. With no need for ports or runways, the Airlander can land on any reasonably flat surface, providing much-needed mobility resilience and flexibility in support of distributed maritime operations and expeditionary warfighting.

“Our Airlander hybrid aircraft represents a game-changing technology for ultra-low-emissions flight, that can also revolutionize the capabilities of the Department of Defense. Through our collaboration with Capt Ben Cohen and through the research and development work with the Naval Postgraduate School, we are demonstrating how private investment and commercial innovation can be adapted to enhance logistics, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance operations, and communications in the Pacific. The Zero Carbon Logistics Support Via Hybrid Aircraft project has the potential to transform the way the US Navy and Marine Corps conduct operations in contested and distributed environments, providing them with an unparalleled advantage in the region,” commented HAV CEO Tom Grundy.

In August 2021, HAV and the US Naval Postgraduate School (NPS) signed a three-year Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) that enabled defence personnel to explore the potential impact of civilian hybrid aircraft technologies and evaluate the potential to adapt Airlander for USMC-led scenarios and multiple geographies, as well as both logistics and mobility applications. The CRADA brings together HAV’s industry expertise and knowledge of Airlander with NPS students’ experience with the challenges of the modern battlefield and Expeditionary Advanced Basing Operations (EABO).

The students collaborated with HAV to gain a deeper understanding of hybrid aircraft technology and the commercialisation process from prototype to production, with research emphasising the importance of digital technology, particularly digital twins, and expanding opportunities for DoD applications of hybrid aircraft technology.

NPS’ Modeling Virtual Environments and Simulation (MOVES) Institute partnered with the Energy Academic Group to analyse the Airlander 10’s potential for surface surveillance missions in the Arctic Ocean. The collaboration resulted in the development of a virtual reality view of defence-unique missions using hybrid aircraft. The MOVES Institute is continuing this research, using the Airlander 10 concept for EABO and Littoral Operations in a Contested Environment (LOCE) modelling, which is crucial for ideating new concepts and examining how new technologies integrate with existing infrastructure. The MOVES Institute is planning to model other environments for HAV to showcase hybrid aircraft capabilities in both the civilian and defence sectors.