Cargo by drone - the innovative use of K-max helicopters

Elementary – Insurance is contract between the interested party and Insurer willing to assume risk that on payment of premium, the policy holder will be indemnified for loss or damage arising out of insured perils. Marine Insurance covers goods in transit from place to place that is insurance of goods in transit.  Sure have heard of the word ‘drone’ - Drones are male honey bees which develop from eggs that have not been fertilized, and they cannot sting.  What do they have to do with Insurance especially Marine Insurance ?

A good Underwriter would evaluate the risk by assimilating and analyzing the risk profile – deciding on the probability of occurrence, its frequency, the magnitude and then decide on rate, terms and conditions for offering coverage.  In Marine Insurance, apart from the subject matter of insurance, there are more factors such as the distance of transportations, the mode and methodology of transport, the packing of goods, they way they would be handled, the weather conditions, physical conditions and political conditions of regions through which the cargo would transit.

There could be Road Transport or transportation by Sea coupled with land and then there could be Air – theoretically there could be commodity movement by post also. Relatively, transportation by air is faster, safer and handled better – one never asks for particulars of which air craft would carry the subject matter proposed for insurance.  Even by air, there are containers – though not of the size and standard  - the ISO containers.

By road, one need to worry about the road conditions, the capacity of drivers, the traffic hazards, the multiplicity of accidents and more – if it is ODC, there could be inspection or warranty of the vehicle that need to carry the cargo, the route as also the expertise of drivers.

When it is by air, no further questions asked – Insurers tend to grant cover. Have you ever imagined cargo being carried air-borne literally hanging in the air and ……………….. there being no pilot – air-craft navigated without a qualified pilot on  board !! – sounds crazy…. – no read this interesting report in Daily Mail [on 7th Jan 2012]. Mercifully for the Insurers, it is not commercial cargo and not proposed for insurance.  It is that of US military which  reveals revolutionary pilotless cargo drone that can deliver supplies to territories plagued by roadside bombs.  The news report mentions of Pilotless K-MAX helicopter first unveiled in 2008 which can carry a maximum payload of 6,855 pounds and costs $1,100 per hour to operate

It is stated that U.S. military is testing a revolutionary new drone for its arsenal, a pilotless helicopter intended to fly cargo missions to remote outposts where frequent roadside bombs threaten access by road convoys.  Surveillance drones for monitoring enemy activity and armed versions for launching airstrikes have become a trademark of America's wars in Afghanistan, Iraq and elsewhere in the Middle East. But this is the first time a chopper version designed for transport has been used operationally.

It is stated that in a month the K max helicopters delivered nearly 18 tonnes of cargo, mainly thousands of Meals Ready to Eat and spare parts needed at the forward operating bases. 'Afghanistan is a highly mined country and the possibility of improvised explosive devices is always a problem moving cargo overland in a convoy,'  the spokesperson is quoted as saying. Every load that we can take off of a ground convoy reduces the danger and risk that our Marines, soldiers, and sailors are faced with,' he said. 'With an unmanned helicopter, even the aircrew is taken out of harm's way.'  The use of drone choppers  is expected to solve these problems and offer a viable source of supply with least exposure to danger. 

An unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), commonly known as a drone, is an aircraft without a human pilot on board. Its flight is either controlled autonomously by computers in the vehicle, or under the remote control of a navigatoron the ground or in another vehicle.

With regards – S. Sampathkumar.

Photo and news courtesy : http://www.dailymail.co.uk