K-MAX - Optionally manned - Production line re-opens - Rotor&Wing

Unmanned K-MAX at work

Kaman Delivers First K-MAX Airframe,

Expects Deliveries This Year

By S.L. Fuller | January 17, 2017

Fire, Unmanned, Utility

 
 
 
 
 

Photo courtesy of Kaman

Kaman Aerosystems has delivered its first airframe from the re-opened K-MAX production line in Jacksonville, Florida, to its Bloomfield, Connecticut, facility. There, final assembly, testing and certification is planned for the aircraft over the next few months, said Kaman.

This delivery is on schedule, per a July 2015 announcement. At that time, the K-MAX was emerging from an indefinite shutdown implemented in 2003. The aircraft was initially certified in 1994. However, an April 2015, a joint technology demonstration by Kaman, Lockheed Martin and Neya Systems of an unmanned K-MAX sparked interest in a new version or kit.

Kaman said it expects aircraft assembly, FAA production certification efforts, customary one-time inspections associated with the first aircraft and flight testing to occur simultaneously. Delivery of the first K-MAX is planned for the second quarter of 2017 following those efforts. The company said it is expecting to make multiple deliveries.

The K-MAX is a single-seat, single-engine aircraft featuring a counter-rotating rotor system. More than 30 K-MAXs have already been produced and have been used in commercial logging and firefighting missions. The aircraft can lift up to 6,000 lb. The U.S. Marine Corps maintains two unmanned versions, which were codeveloped by Lockheed Martin. The two K-MAX drones served from 2011 to 2014 transporting cargo. Further unmanned systems and capabilities are currently being developed and tested for the aircraft.