At the recent AFWERX Expedient Basing Challenge, sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense and showcased in Las Vegas, Traverse Aero was awarded a coveted CSO (Commercial Solutions Opening), which authorizes any DoD agency to allocate funds to Traverse Aero for the development and purchase of its Orca cargo drones. Out of the hundreds of submissions, Traverse Aero’s Orca was the only cargo drone solution to be selected.

“Orca clearly meets a large number of the DoD’s requirements for a multi-use cargo drone operating in contested logistics environments,” says Traverse Aero founder and CEO Scott Parker. “We are honored to be evaluated and vetted by the U.S. Air Force. This critical seal-of-approval means that any DoD agency can now cut through the usual red tape and start accelerating their adoption of Traverse Aero’s Orca”.

The showcase event in Las Vegas on Jan 16th revealed lots of excitement around the Orca solution, where form clearly follows function. Discussion highlights included its seamless integration with existing logistic frameworks, its multi-mission capabilities, and its hybrid powertrain that can power electronic payloads for extended periods, expanding its role beyond autonomous cargo logistics. Force sustainment in contested areas was another hot topic and clearly it makes a lot more sense to send an Orca rather than putting airmen at risk for these types of missions.

The Orca’s proprietary AI co-pilot was also of great interest as it creates a valuable force multiplier. The co-pilot’s advanced autonomy and AI stack will allow a single remote operator to control up to 50 Orcas, even in GPS-denied and communication-denied environments. Orcas will fuse data from an array of onboard sensors for fully autonomous navigation, performing equally well in both day and night conditions.

Traverse Aero is building the Orca from technology that is proven and available today. Importantly, the performance of the aircraft is not reliant on any “breakthrough” technology that is yet to be realized. This strategy means the company can compress the typical development timeline and rapidly field the Orca in commercial and military environments.