奥什科什防务公司周一宣布与硅谷初创企业Grid Aero建立合作伙伴关系，共同制造大型军用无人机，这将是这家总部位于威斯康星州的公司生产的首款飞机。
Oshkosh Defense announced Monday a partnership with Silicon Valley startup Grid Aero to manufacture large military drones, which would be the first aircraft produced by the Wisconsin-based company.
“我们做的是像重力一样、留在地面上的事情，”奥什科什首席增长官洛根·琼斯在接受《防务新闻》采访时这样描述公司的常规产品。但他称这一合作“对我们来说非常契合”。琼斯表示，这一合作源于国防部的“自由兵工厂”计划，该计划旨在扩大国内工业基础。Grid Aero需要合作伙伴帮助扩大生产规模，而奥什科什则希望制造具有长期潜力的产品。
“We do things that like gravity and stay on the ground,” said Logan Jones, Oshkosh’s chief growth officer, in an interview with Defense News, describing the company’s typical offerings. But he called the partnership “a very nice fit for us.”Jones said the partnership grew out of the Defense Department’s Arsenal of Freedom campaign, which aims to expand the domestic industrial base. Grid Aero needed a partner to help scale production, while Oshkosh was looking to manufacture something with long-term potential.
“我们考察了市场增长的方向，以及哪类技术会从规模化中受益，”他说，并解释了公司为何一直在探索无人系统。奥什科什被Grid Aero吸引，部分原因是其Lifter飞机采用金属结构而非复合材料，这与奥什科什的制造能力相契合。
“We looked where both the market was growing, and where the technology class would benefit from scale,” he said, explaining why the company has been exploring unmanned systems. Oshkosh was drawn to Grid Aero in part because its Lifter aircraft uses metal construction rather than composite materials, aligning with Oshkosh’s manufacturing capabilities.
尽管从技术上讲奥什科什会被视为分包商，但琼斯表示，两家公司将这一安排称为合作伙伴关系，因为奥什科什正在帮助Grid Aero重新设计Lifter飞机，“以确保可制造性从第一天起就是其设计和战略的核心，而不是事后才考虑的问题”。然而，做出决定的并不只有奥什科什一家公司。Grid Aero联合创始人兼首席执行官阿瑟·杜布瓦表示，对Grid Aero而言，奥什科什在国防制造方面的丰富经验帮助其最终决定开展合作。
Although Oshkosh would technically be considered a subcontractor, Jones said the companies describe the arrangement as a partnership because Oshkosh is helping Grid Aero reconfigure the Lifter aircraft “to ensure that manufacturability is at the heart of their design and strategy from day one, not an afterthought.”However, Oshkosh wasn’t the only company making a decision. For Grid Aero, Oshkosh’s extensive experience in defense manufacturing helped solidify the decision to work together, co-founder and CEO Arthur Dubois said.
“他们以数千辆的规模制造车辆，而这正是我们需要的速度。他们的生产线也是为多样化而建的。一条奥什科什生产线可以制造同一款车辆的多种变型，每种都针对不同的任务配置，而不会拖慢速度。Lifter也是如此，”杜布瓦在给《防务新闻》的电子邮件中说。
“They build vehicles by the thousands, and that is the rate we need. Their lines are also built for variety. A single Oshkosh line can build many variants of a vehicle, each set up for a different mission, without slowing down. Lifter works the same way,” Dubois said in an email to Defense News.
Grid Aero成立于2024年，开发了Lifter——一款具备模块化载荷能力的自主飞行器，公司将其描述为“天空中的皮卡”。Lifter属于第4类或第5类无人机系统，这一分类涵盖重量超过1320磅的飞行器。
Founded in 2024, Grid Aero developed the Lifter, an autonomous aircraft with modular payload capacity that the company describes as a “pickup truck of the skies.”The Lifter falls into the Group 4 or Group 5 category of unmanned aerial systems, classifications that cover aircraft weighing more than 1,320 pounds.
杜布瓦表示，奥什科什的制造技术非常适合Lifter，因为它“简单、坚固、采用活塞动力，并且由随处可见的材料制成”。他还说，Lifter的设计“既借鉴了军用卡车，也借鉴了传统飞机”。两家公司计划为国防部和商业客户建造数千架Lifter飞行器。初期，Grid Aero将进行低速生产，同时奥什科什将建立一条试点生产线。
Dubois said Oshkosh’s manufacturing technology is a good fit for the Lifter because it is “simple, rugged, piston-powered, and made from ubiquitous materials.”He added that the Lifter’s design “borrows as much from military trucks as from traditional aircraft.”The companies plan to build thousands of Lifter aircraft for the Defense Department and commercial customers. Initially, Grid Aero will conduct low-rate production while Oshkosh establishes a pilot production line.
“随着客户需求增长，我们将分阶段把生产转移到奥什科什，并跟上客户的需求，”琼斯说。“随着（国防部）规划未来冲突，大规模部署和替换飞行器的能力是其能够建立的最重要优势之一。”
“As customer demand grows, we will move production to Oshkosh in stages and keep pace with what the customer needs,” Jones said. “As [the Defense Department] plans for future conflicts, the ability to field and replace aircraft at scale is one of the most important advantages it can build.”