Silent Arrow wins contract to build loitering cargo drone

The company will build on Phase I propulsion test success to prepare a number of full-scale aircraft for flight tests in Q3 and Q4 of 2025.

Silent Arrow has been selected by AFWERX for a SBIR Phase II contract to the value of $1.25 million focused on the Silent Arrow CLS-300 (Contested Logistics System, 300nm Range) powered cargo drone to address the most pressing challenges in the Department of the Air Force (DAF).

The Air Force Research Laboratory and AFWERX, have partnered to streamline the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) and Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) process by accelerating the small business experience through faster proposal to award timelines, changing the pool of potential applicants by expanding opportunities to small business and eliminating bureaucratic overhead by continually implementing process improvement changes in contract execution. The DAF began offering the Open Topic SBIR/STTR program in 2018 which expanded the range of innovations the DAF funded and now Silent Arrow will start its journey to create and provide innovative capabilities that will strengthen the national defense of the United States of America.

"We'd like to thank the U.S. Air Force, AFWERX, AFRL and our Air Force Customer and End-User organisations for expanding our successful partnership by awarding this follow-on Phase II," says Chip Yates, Silent Arrow's Founder and CEO. "We look forward to building on our Phase I propulsion test success as we prepare a number of full-scale aircraft for flight tests in Q3 and Q4 of 2025."