Pentagon's Initiative: US Logistics Drones Converted to Carry Combat Rockets

WASHINGTON – The US Army has tested a new capability of logistics drones by mounting a rocket launcher system, a move that could transform unmanned cargo aircraft into combat platforms on the battlefield.

During trials at Fort Rucker, Alabama, defence industry partners successfully installed a triple-shot weapon system on the Tactical Resupply Vehicle (TRV) 150 drone. The system fires 70mm rockets, according to the US Army’s official statement released this week.

The development aims to provide additional combat capabilities to lower command units without relying on larger, more expensive platforms.

“Typically, industry waits for the government to issue requirements and then fulfils them. In this case, we saw a new capability that could be demonstrated and didn’t want to wait,” said Clark Dutterer, Vice President of Business Development at Survice Engineering, as reported by Defense News on Thursday, 28 May 2026.

The company funded the project itself to accelerate technology development and demonstrate its operational potential to the military.

The TRV 150 is known as a logistics drone capable of carrying up to 150 pounds (nearly 68kg). The system has been used by the US Army and Marine Corps to deliver supplies to hard-to-reach operational areas.

Rob Baltrusch, Chief Engineer at Survice Engineering, described the TRV 150 as a “sky truck” due to its ability to autonomously deliver payloads with minimal operator intervention.

He added that soldiers only need to input destination coordinates, and the system calculates flight paths, delivers the cargo, and returns automatically.

The weapon system used in the trials is the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS), a guided rocket launcher platform currently used on Apache attack helicopters. If integration with drones is further developed, precision strike capabilities could be extended to units previously lacking access to armed aerial platforms.

The US Army states the project has been in development since January 2025. Before the latest triple-shot launcher test, the system successfully underwent single-launcher firing trials last May.