MARV-EL (Marine Aerial Resupply Vehicle)
Marine Corps aerial-resupply prototype program developed jointly by Leidos and Elroy Air, using the Chaparral autonomous cargo eVTOL, approved for flight testing by the US Navy's STUAS program office.
MARV-EL addresses the Marine Corps' need to resupply forward-deployed, distributed forces (e.g. Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations) without exposing personnel or manned aircraft to contested terrain, weather, or threat environments. As of the most recent reporting it is a competitive prototype demonstration effort, not yet a program of record: PMA-263 ran an 18-month prototype competition between Leidos/Elroy Air's Chaparral and Kaman Aerospace's Kargo, culminating in a joint evaluation at Yuma Proving Ground in July 2024, with a Middle Tier Acquisition rapid-prototyping decision still pending vendor down-select.
Program detail
- Agency
- U.S. Marine Corps / Navy Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems (STUAS) Program Office
- Acronym
- Budget
- Phase
- Competitive prototype demonstration (pending Middle Tier Acquisition down-select following July 2024 Yuma Proving Ground evaluation)
- Domain
- Autonomous aerial logistics resupply
Participants2
Contracts0
No linked records yet.
Frequently asked
- What is MARV-EL (Marine Aerial Resupply Vehicle)?
- MARV-EL addresses the Marine Corps' need to resupply forward-deployed, distributed forces (e.g. Expeditionary Advanced Base Operations) without exposing personnel or manned aircraft to contested terrain, weather, or threat environments. As of the most recent reporting it is a competitive prototype demonstration effort, not yet a program of record: PMA-263 ran an 18-month prototype competition between Leidos/Elroy Air's Chaparral and Kaman Aerospace's Kargo, culminating in a joint evaluation at Yuma Proving Ground in July 2024, with a Middle Tier Acquisition rapid-prototyping decision still pending vendor down-select.
- Which agency runs MARV-EL (Marine Aerial Resupply Vehicle)?
- MARV-EL (Marine Aerial Resupply Vehicle) is run by U.S. Marine Corps / Navy Small Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems (STUAS) Program Office.
Sources & citations2
Each claim links to its underlying source. Confidence reflects how directly the source supports the claim.
- 1
Leidos and Elroy Air demonstrate an autonomous aerial resupply drone for the US Marine Corps, approved to fly demos for the US Navy
Leidos: Leidos and Elroy Air Demonstrate Autonomous Aerial Resupply Drone for US Marine CorpsVerified2024-05-14 - 2
PMA-263 ran an 18-month prototype competition between Leidos/Elroy Air's Chaparral and Kaman Aerospace's Kargo for the MARV-EL requirement, culminating in a joint evaluation at Yuma Proving Ground in July 2024.
Defense.info: MARV-EL System for USMC Logistical SupportReported2024-07-26