Oshkosh Defense and Grid Aero Partner to Scale Lifter Drones

Oshkosh Defense and Grid Aero announced a partnership on Monday to scale the production of the Lifter, an autonomous Group 4 and 5 unmanned aircraft system. The collaboration integrates Grid Aero's autonomous aircraft design with the industrial manufacturing and supply chain capabilities of Oshkosh Defense to meet Pentagon requirements for affordable, bulk-purchasable autonomous systems.

The Lifter is a modular platform capable of transporting several thousand pounds over several thousand miles. According to Grid Aero CEO Arthur Dubois, the aircraft is designed to be modular with payload integration systems for cargo, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, comparing the design to a "modular pickup truck" that can have various equipment mounted on top.

The companies plan to redesign the airframe for manufacturability with the goal of producing hundreds or thousands of aircraft by the early 2030s. Following a six to 12-month period of prototype testing, the partners expect to launch a pilot production line at Oshkosh in approximately one year.