Parry Labs and Airbus partner on U.S. Marine Corps' unmanned Aerial Logistics Connector

Parry Labs, a leading provider of edge software platforms, and Airbus U.S. Space & Defense have announced a multi-year partnership for the Airbus MQ-72C Aerial Logistics Connector (ALC), an unmanned variant of the UH-72 Lakota.

This collaboration demonstrates the combined capability Parry Labs and Airbus provide in rapidly delivering autonomy, command and control, and mission capabilities using modern digital and hardware solutions. The initial effort with ALC will establish an immediate foundation for accelerated capability delivery for U.S., Coalition, and commercial aircraft.

Under the terms of the agreement, Parry Labs will deliver a commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) Edge Software Platform, STRATIA, which aligns commercial aviation standards with modern autonomy and mission system capabilities. Parry will also provide edge compute hardware and proven ground control station that scales to multiple form factors to include integration with the Marine Air Ground Tablet (MAGTAB).

"We are excited to partner with Parry Labs as part of our Aerial Logistics Connector team," said Robert Geckle, Chairman and CEO of Airbus U.S. Space & Defense. "Parry's proven digital system integration expertise – specifically UAS command and control interfaces – will help ensure the MQ-72C will be able to conduct unmanned operations in austere environments and redefine how the Marine Corps counters the threats of tomorrow."

The Airbus U.S. and Parry Labs partnership will continue to evolve missionization capabilities over the next several years, ultimately enabling more advanced levels of autonomous flight across the Marine Corps and broader Joint Force.

"We are able to bring modern mission system capabilities in a simple unified data and systems environment to programs like ALC," said JD Parkes, Parry Labs' Chief Executive Officer.

The Airbus team is entering the second year of the Aerial Logistics Connector program, which is using the Middle Tier of Acquisition - Rapid Prototyping pathway. The program aims to provide the service with aircraft prototypes to demonstrate capabilities to the warfighter through a series of operational demonstrations and experiments.

The Aerial Logistics Connector effort is one of several across the Department of Defense to deliver logistical support in distributed environments during peer or near-peer conflicts.