Robinson Unmanned completed two days of demonstration flights with its R44 Airtruck at Acadiana Regional Airport in New Iberia, Louisiana, testing the unmanned cargo helicopter's readiness for offshore missions, the company announced on Tuesday.

Aviation Academy of Louisiana (AAL), an authorized Robinson dealer and service center, conducted the flights on September 2 and 3 with PHI Aviation and invited industry and government observers in attendance.

Over the two days, the aircraft completed cargo loading and unloading, elevated deck landings, precision positioning, and airspace integration, flying repeated approaches to a platform configured as an offshore deck. The operation ran with a two-person crew, including a remote pilot in command and a ground support crew member.

The R44 AIRTRUCK is built on the Robinson R44 airframe and converted for remotely piloted operation using Rotor Technologies' RPX unmanned flight system. It carries a useful load of up to 1,000 pounds and more than 60 cubic feet of internal volume, cruises at over 100 knots, and operates up to 14,000 feet.

Offshore energy operations in Louisiana rely on helicopters for resupply, crew transport, and deck work, tasks that carry weather exposure and safety risk for pilots. Robinson positions the R44 AIRTRUCK as a way to shift that risk to the aircraft while keeping the cargo capacity operators depend on.

The company frames the demonstration as part of its "Era of Both" strategy, which lets operators choose crewed or uncrewed aircraft for a given mission while drawing on the same parts, procedures, and personnel across both fleets. Because the AIRTRUCK shares its airframe with Robinson's certified crewed helicopters, it can draw on the existing supply chain and maintenance network rather than requiring separate infrastructure.

"This is the Era of Both in practice, the same airframe, the same parts, and the same people supporting manned or unmanned missions," said David Smith, president and CEO of Robinson Helicopter Company, in a statement

Beau Prine, general manager of AAL, said the Louisiana test site reflects the state's decades of offshore aviation experience. AAL operates at Acadiana Regional Airport under a vertically integrated business that includes Part 141 and Part 61 flight training, a Part 145 repair station, Part 91 operations, managed jet operations, and air tours, supporting both its piloted Robinson fleet and the Airtruck under one infrastructure.