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COURTESY YAMATO HOLDINGS CO.
An artist’s rendering of a ‘flying truck’ to be developed by Yamato and U.S. firm Bell Helicopter Textron.
Tokyo >> Yamato Holdings Co. has reached an agreement with a major U.S. helicopter manufacturer to develop an unmanned “flying truck” capable of transporting goods via air, Yamato announced. It aims to start commercial use of the vehicles by the mid-2020s.
According to Yamato and U.S.-based Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., the unmanned aircraft will fly at speeds of at least 99 mph and carry cargo of up to about 990 pounds.
Bell will develop the aircraft, while Yamato will construct the cargo container. The companies will produce a prototype by August 2019 and conduct test flights.
The unmanned plane is faster than a truck, immune to traffic jams and not bound to road and railway routes, benefits that are expected to reduce costs.
Yamato hopes to use unmanned aircraft to solve the shortage of truck drivers and other workers that has plagued the transport industry.
For now, plans are to use the aircraft for intermediate-range transport rather than home delivery. It aims to eventually expand the system throughout Japan and abroad.
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