First flight for autonomous logistics aircraft

RAAF’s Jericho Disruptive Innovation (JDI) team, in partnership with Brisbane-based RF Design, has completed the first long-range mission of an autonomous aircraft, JabX.

CAPTION: JabX autonomous aircraft on the tarmac at Archerfield, Queensland, before a Project Camel Train test flight. sStory by Flight Lieutenant Natasha Silver. Photo by Leading Aircraftwoman Aiesha White-Kratz.

During the demonstration, JabX took off from Archerfield, Queensland and tracked through regional NSW before landing in Whyalla, South Australia.

Developed under JDI’s Project Camel Train, JabX is a heavily modified, Australian-built Jabiru J400 light aircraft, transformed into a fully autonomous cargo platform. 

RF Design Managing Director Seppo Saario said the aircraft could take off and land by itself, and it had a detect-and-avoid system that allowed it to operate safely in civilian airspace. 

However, while a safety pilot remained on board to meet regulations covering experimental aircraft, the aircraft’s flight-control system handled the mission end-to-end, managing take-off, en-route navigation and autonomous landing.

Across 12 hours of flying, the safety pilot only intervened once, because of weather.

Project Camel Train aims to establish dedicated uncrewed flight corridors linking remote airfields and isolated coastal bases across northern Australia’s vast distances.

Project Camel Train’s technical lead Flying Officer Patrick Phillips said the team hadn’t previously been able to test the back-end management system over such a long distance.

“The JabX performed wonderfully. This is a huge step – and with small refinements, we believe long-distance autonomous logistics is entirely viable,” Flying Officer Phillips said.

Beyond its operational capability, the flight also highlighted the strength of Australia’s domestic aviation industry, with the aircraft, engine and software all Australian-built and delivered by local companies.

Wing Commander Keirin Joyce, Deputy Director Disruptive Experimentation, said the flying event was a significant step for the future of air logistics. 

“By automating cargo movement across the north, we strengthen our logistics tail,” Wing Commander Joyce said. 

“This approach could keep dispersed teams supplied without over-tasking our crewed transport fleet, freeing aviators to focus on more complex missions.”

JabX is just one component of Project Camel Train and, with long-range performance now validated, the project is moving into its next critical phase – removing the on-board safety pilot.

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