# Airbus Demonstrates Cargo Drone to Army

Airbus demonstrated its self-funded MQ-72C cargo-helicopter drone to the U.S. Army, showing autonomous flight, airfield integration, rerouting around no-fly zones, and control from a ground station up to 70 miles away. The Army has not established a formal cargo-drone requirement, so the demonstration signals potential market interest rather than an active solicitation. Separately, the Marine Corps’ Aerial Logistics Connector (ALC) competition provides a defined related procurement context, with Airbus projecting nose-door integration for 2029–2030.

- The Army demonstration gives contractors concrete capability areas to assess against future logistics and air-assault needs, but it does not establish a current Army procurement or requirement.
- Airbus, Shield AI, and Parry Labs are associated with the MQ-72C/ALC effort; Near Earth Autonomy and Honeywell are developing a competing ALC design. This provides insight into the competitive landscape for uncrewed cargo aircraft.
- Contractors can use the demonstrated autonomy, remote-control range, airfield integration, and no-fly-zone rerouting capabilities to inform positioning for related Army logistics needs and the Marine Corps ALC competition.
- The ALC’s projected 2029–2030 nose-door integration is a longer-term program milestone, not a current proposal deadline.

**Jurisdictions:** federal
**Industries:** Defense & Military
**Published:** October 15, 2026

### Government Entities
- U.S. Army (Army)
- U.S. Marine Corps (USMC)

### Vendors
- Airbus (Prime developer of the MQ-72C demonstrator)
- Shield AI (Autonomy software provider)
- Parry Labs (Ground control station developer)
- Near Earth Autonomy (Competing Aerial Logistics Connector design team member)
- Honeywell (Competing Aerial Logistics Connector design team member)

### Key Quotes
> We had a total of five demonstration flights that we did down there, showing everything from the autonomous capability of the aircraft in a hover.
> — Jaysen Yochim, Senior Director for the Aerial Logistics Connector program at Airbus

### Sources
- [MQ-72C Cargo Helicopter Drone Capabilities Demonstrated For U.S. Army](https://www.twz.com/air/mq-72c-cargo-helicopter-drone-capabilities-demonstrated-for-u-s-army) - TWZ