Reliable Robotics Welcomes Former Military Leaders as Advisors

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Reliable Robotics, a leader in autonomous aircraft systems, today announced that General Richard D. Clarke (ret.), who served as the Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), and General Mike Minihan (ret.), the former Commander of Air Mobility Command (AMC), have joi

ned the company in advisory roles. These former senior military leaders will also serve on Reliable’s Defense Advisory Board, which focuses on bringing dual-use aircraft autonomy to the United States military as quickly as possible.

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General Richard D. Clarke (ret.) and General Mike Minihan (ret.) Join Reliable Robotics Defense Advisory Board (Photo: Business Wire)

As the 12th Commander of USSOCOM, General Clarke (ret.) led a joint force of more than 75,000 military members with an annual operating budget over $25B, and advised the Secretary of Defense on global special operations forces employment. Serving as the Commander of AMC, General Minihan (ret.) was responsible for executing the air mobility mission for the joint force, allies and partners which included nearly 1,100 aircraft and 107,000 active-duty Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve Airmen and civilians.

“Reliable’s innovative and ground-breaking work to bring dual-use aircraft autonomy that incorporates redundancy and airspace integration capabilities to our warfighters is transformational. These technologies will enable USSOCOM and other units to perform logistics, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance in contested environments, without putting our warfighters at risk. The applications in the Indo-Pacific for small, distributed teams, who are geographically dispersed, will cause dilemmas to our adversaries,” said General Clarke (ret). “Adding autonomy to existing commercial airframes, such as the Cessna 208B Caravan is an ideal way to deliver new capabilities quickly and at lower cost.”

Reliable was recently awarded an Indefinite Delivery, Indefinite Quantity (IDIQ) contract that enables all branches of the military and combatant commands to leverage the company’s aircraft-agnostic automation capabilities. The company also delivered a U.S. Air Force-commissioned roadmap for automating the KC-135 Stratotanker, and was awarded a competitive AFWERX Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) contract to perform uncrewed flights for the military.

“Establishing a cost-effective airlift capability that leverages dual-use autonomy and enables around-the-clock logistics will be a game changer for the United States military, especially for operations in the Indo-Pacific region,” said General Minihan (ret). “Concepts such as Agile Combat Employment require more aircraft distributed across a large number of locations. This will require greater refueling capacity and higher volume cargo operations, all of which will necessitate cost-effective autonomy for the KC-135 and smaller cargo aircraft.”

The safety-enhancing automation Reliable is developing incorporates redundancy, high integrity navigation and an “always on” autopilot that is engaged through all phases of aircraft operation from taxi to takeoff to landing. The Federal Aviation Administration has accepted the certification plan for this technology to be operated in the National Airspace System. “We are committed to delivering aircraft autonomy that reduces risk for our warfighters and accelerates the acquisition process; working with retired Generals Clarke and Minihan to achieve this goal is an honor,” said Robert Rose, Co-founder and CEO at Reliable Robotics.

About Reliable Robotics

Reliable Robotics launched in 2017 to bring safe, certified automation systems to commercial and defense aviation. The company’s system enables remote operation of any aircraft type. Reliable’s vision is to transform the way we move goods and people around the planet with safer, more convenient and more affordable air transportation. The company is headquartered in Mountain View, CA and has a distributed global workforce. Learn more and see job openings at https://reliable.co.

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We are committed to delivering aircraft autonomy that reduces risk for our warfighters and accelerates the acquisition process; working with retired Generals Clarke and Minihan to achieve this goal is an honor. -- Robert Rose, CEO at Reliable Robotics