Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Being Developed by MHI Used in Demonstration of Automated Transport and Unloading of Heavy Cargo in Disaster Areas
– Part of “Nankai Rescue 2024” Disaster Response Training for a Major Earthquake in the Nankai Trough –
– Demonstration of the ability to automatically unload heavy cargo using a winch while in a hovering state, in a presumed isolated area
– Demonstration of the ability to use the onboard camera to confirm the status of disaster victims and the damaged areas following a disaster
TOKYO, Mar 5, 2025 – (JCN Newswire) – Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), in collaboration with the Japan UAS Industrial Development Association (JUIDA), recently participated in Nankai Rescue 2024, a disaster response training exercise organized by the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force’s Middle Army, conducted in preparation for the occurrence of a major earthquake in the Nankai Trough.(1) Training exercises were conducted using unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) currently being developed by MHI’s Commercial Aviation Systems segment, specifically a small single-rotor unmanned aerial vehicle (hereinafter “small-sized UAV”) to assess the status of damage immediately following a disaster, and a medium-sized multirotor unmanned aerial vehicle (hereinafter “medium-sized UAV”) to transport heavy cargo to disaster areas. In these drills, both the small and medium-sized UAVs were able to successfully achieve their intended objectives.
The training exercise for the transport of heavy cargo to disaster areas using a medium-sized UAV demonstrated that it is possible to transport heavy relief supplies in strong winds, deliver the load to a place that is presumed to be an isolated area, and automatically lower the load using a winch. Specifically, 72 bottles of two-liter plastic bottles of drinking water (weighing 150 kg), provided by Kirin Beverage Co., Ltd. as relief supplies, were transported in strong winds with a maximum wind speed of just under 10 m/s, with the cargo held close to the UAV during takeoff and cruising to reduce wind resistance. For the unloading, while the UAV was in a hovering state, the cargo was lowered by rope with a winch, and disconnected after being placed on the ground. This was the first demonstration confirming that it is possible for a UAV to automatically unload heavy goods using a winch.(2)
Training exercises were also conducted to assess the extent of damage immediately following a disaster using a small-sized UAV, demonstra