The United States Marine Corps awarded a $15.5 million contract to Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company (NYSE:LMT), for the Medium Aerial Resupply Vehicle – Expeditionary Logistics (MARV-EL) Increment 2 program. The offering selected for award is the R66 TURBINETRUCK, an autonomous cargo helicopter commercially developed by Sikorsky and Robinson Unmanned that combines Sikorsky’s proven MATRIX™ autonomy system with the rugged R66 airframe from Robinson Helicopter Company to provide flexible, affordable and rapid combat sustainment. The ability to deliver ammunition, medical supplies and other essential equipment at the point of need – regardless of terrain, weather, or enemy threat – is critical to the U.S. Marine Corps’ continued success. The MARV-EL program fills a capability gap between small tactical drones and large strategic airlifters, delivering a reliable “middleweight” uncrewed logistics platform capable of operating from austere forward operating bases, ship decks or unimproved landing zones. The R66 TURBINETRUCK will support mission success when ground or crewed aviation assets are unavailable and keep personnel out of danger in high‑risk scenarios. The R66 TURBINETRUCK is enabled by the MATRIX system and will leverage similar features as Sikorsky’s new fully autonomous S-70UAS™ U-Hawk™ helicopter.
“Our partnership with Sikorsky brings the trusted performance and reliability of the R66 platform into the unmanned logistics arena,” said David Smith, president and CEO of Robinson Helicopter Company. “The R66 TURBINETRUCK represents a significant step forward in expanding proven rotorcraft into scalable, autonomous cargo solutions for demanding operational environments. Together, we are delivering a game‑changing capability that will enhance warfighter readiness and open new opportunities for safe, reliable and affordable autonomous transport.”
“As we expand the MATRIX family, we also extend the reach of uncrewed solutions for both civil and military customers,” said Rich Benton, vice president and general manager of Sikorsky. “The commercially developed R66 TURBINETRUCK is simple, economical and re-configurable; ideal for high-risk, hard-to-reach environments where keeping personnel out of harm’s way is essential.”
“Operators need logistics solutions that can keep pace with rapidly changing mission demands without increasing complexity,” said Paul Fermo, president of Robinson Unmanned. “By combining MATRIX’s advanced autonomous capability with the rugged, flight-proven R66 airframe, the R66 TURBINETRUCK delivers that capability whenever and wherever it’s needed—no matter the environment.”
The MARV-EL program serves as the middleweight capability designed to address a critical gap in the Unmanned Logistics System – Air (ULS-A) program. It requires an uncrewed aircraft capable of carrying a logistic payload between 1,300 and 2,500 lbs over a combat radius of 100 nautical miles (NM), operated through a common digital handheld device. Robinson Unmanned will deliver the first R66 TURBINETRUCK to Sikorsky for integration, testing, evaluation, and demonstration, during which MATRIX’s platform-agnostic and open architecture design will be showcased on the R66 TURBINETRUCK airframe. The MATRIX system will be integrated into the R66 in a manner similar to Sikorsky’s S-70UAS U-Hawk helicopter, while offering a smaller footprint, different performance parameters, and significantly lower operating costs. In operation, the user simply enters mission objectives into a digital tablet, after which the system automatically generates a flight plan and uses onboard sensors and algorithms to safely guide the R66 TURBINETRUCK to the target location. This effort builds on Sikorsky’s experience from participating in the U.S. Marine Corps’ Aerial Logistics Connector (ALC) Phase 1 in 2025, which the company will leverage for MARV-EL Increment 2.
Robinson Unmanned is the uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) business unit of Robinson Helicopter Company, focused on delivering scalable, aerospace-grade VTOL platforms across civil and defense missions. Integrating modular open architecture, advanced autonomy technologies, and full-production rotorcraft platforms, Robinson Unmanned enables operators to extend capability while reducing human risk. From compact coaxial systems to heavy-lift autonomous rotorcraft, Robinson Unmanned delivers rugged, reliable, mission-ready aircraft built to perform.
The Lockheed Martin Corporation is an American defense and aerospace manufacturer. It is headquartered in North Bethesda, Maryland, United States. The company was formed by the merger of Lockheed Corporation with Martin Marietta on March 15, 1995. Lockheed Martin operates 4 divisions: Lockheed Martin Aeronautics; Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control; Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems; and Lockheed Martin Space. The company s the top contractor of the United States federal government, and has been since at least 2008. As of 2024, 73% of the company’s revenue came from the federal government, including 65% from the United States Department of Defense. In 2024, 26% of revenue was from sales of the F-35 fighter. The company also invests in healthcare systems, renewable energy systems, intelligent energy distribution, and compact nuclear fusion.
