After autonomous C-5 scan, Boeing looks to ‘weatherizing’ drones

"We've proven this works, we've proven the goodness," Scott Belanger, capabilities integration team lead for Boeing Global Services, told reporters. "Now, where do we take it? How do we really scale it?"

DOVER AIR FORCE BASE — The Air Force is teaming with Boeing to put autonomous technologies to the test, and a recent demonstration on a C-5 aircraft showed the promise of using drones to assist with aircraft maintenance. But now, the defense contracting giant needs to tackle its “biggest limitation” — making sure the drones actually work in all weather conditions.

Inside of a relatively quiet hangar at Dover Air Force Base, Del. during a recent demonstration, a drone buzzed around about a quarter of a C-5, stopping to hover over different parts of the aircraft as it took pictures that were fed instantaneously to a ground control station just feet away. 

The demo was part of Boeing’s Autonomous Aircraft Inspection (AAI) program, a joint effort started a few years ago with autonomous aviation company Near Earth Autonomy, the two companies conducted the first drone scan of a C-5 aircraft to assist with maintenance inside of a hangar at Dover Air Force Base. 

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