A captain whose cruise ship collided with two docked container vessels in strong winds is being investigated by German police over a possible breach of duty of care. No one was injured, but damage forced the operator to cancel its planned Canary Islands voyage.
Published On 27 Oct 202627 Oct 2026
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Sikorsky has unveiled a concept for a containerized deployment package for its Nomad 100 vertical takeoff and landing uncrewed aircraft system (VTOL UAS), combining four aircraft and their support equipment inside a single 20-foot shipping container. The company is pitching the Nomad 100 Fast Pack as a way to rapidly establish autonomous air capabilities at locations without runways or other conventional support infrastructure.
Meet the Nomad™ 100 Fast Pack
The concept was unveiled on October 12 at the Association of the U.S. Army’s (AUSA) main annual convention in Washington, D.C., where TWZ is in attendance. It comes as the U.S. military seeks to expand its inventory of uncrewed systems and distribute capabilities across more dispersed operating locations, particularly in preparation for a potential large-scale conflict with China in the Indo-Pacific.
“Military commanders are asking for capability that enables them to deploy worldwide into austere environments,” said Ramsey Bentley, director of Sikorsky Advanced Concepts, speaking at AUSA. They want greater situational awareness, the ability to conduct targeting and deliver effects at range, and the capacity to control multiple assets simultaneously, he added.
The Nomad 100 Fast Pack is built around a standard 20-foot ISO container housing four aircraft, mission-command equipment, communications, power systems, and sustainment supplies. The aim is to deliver a self-contained package that can be transported to a forward location, brought into operation, and moved again quickly. A promotional video shows the Fast Pack being transported into a combat theater by one of the company’s Black Hawk helicopters as a slung load.
Sikorsky says two Nomad 100s can be prepared for flight “out of the box” in less than 15 minutes and that the other two aircraft — stored on the upper shelf of the container — can be made available within four to six hours.
The package is designed to support runway-independent operations from locations including naval vessels, tactical vehicle staging areas, and improvised landing zones.
“We no longer require a ground control station,” explained Sikorsky Vice President and General Manager Rich Benton. “We no longer require a large group of soldiers or operators.”
Beyond the containerized package, Bentley said Nomad can be transported by truck or trailer, or potentially self-deploy in a smaller package. Sikorsky is also developing containerized deployment concepts for larger members of the Nomad family.
As we have discussed in the past, the Nomad 100 combines vertical takeoff and landing with the ability to transition to fixed-wing flight, bringing airplane-like range and endurance to a compact, runway-independent package that can operate from confined locations.
Introducing the Nomad™ Family of Rotor Blown Wing Drones
“What is very unique about this aircraft is it’s able to roll over on its wing and also fly like an airplane,” Bentley said. “So you’re getting the vertical takeoff and landing capability, along with the endurance, range, and speed of a fixed-wing aircraft.”
Sikorsky cites an endurance of 10 to 14 hours, depending on payload, a range exceeding 800 nautical miles, and a cruising speed of 70 miles per hour, with a dash speed of 90 miles per hour.
Its hybrid-electric drivetrain uses combustion engines to drive a generator that supplies power to the aircraft’s rotors and mission systems. Nomad is designed to operate on multiple fuels, including JP-8, JP-4, and Jet A.
“Ten gallons of fuel provides over 10 plus hours of operation, so it’s a very efficient system,” Bentley said. He added that the hybrid-electric design reduces maintenance requirements, emphasizing line-replaceable units over more extensive traditional aviation maintenance.
The aircraft can carry a 60-pound mission payload, including supplies such as medical equipment. Bentley said its modular center fuselage can be configured as a cargo bay or adapted for other mission equipment.
Sikorsky says the Fast Pack can support intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and targeting (ISR-T), light attack, and contested logistics missions, depending on customer configuration.
On display at AUSA is a Nomad configured with a forward-looking infrared (FLIR) sensor turret with laser designation capability and four small Northrop Grumman Hatchet glide munitions.
Other potential payloads include electro-optical and infrared sensors, synthetic aperture radar, launched effects, and electronic warfare systems for jamming.
The combination of a small logistical footprint and long-range flight could be particularly useful for supporting expeditionary forces. The aircraft could deliver supplies without relying on a runway or crewed helicopter, while sensor-equipped variants could provide reconnaissance and target designation. Other configurations could carry weapons or deploy additional uncrewed systems.
The Fast Pack also relies on Sikorsky’s MATRIX autonomy technology to reduce operator workload. Rather than continuously piloting each aircraft, an operator can assign a mission through a tablet-based interface and let the aircraft execute it autonomously.
“Now, Matrix autonomy is a very mature autonomy capability. We’ve had over 1,000 flight hours on Matrix,” Bentley said.
An operator selects a mission, designates a location on a map, and initiates the flight. MATRIX then manages engine start, preflight checks, launch, navigation, and mission execution.
“For the operator, very simply, he pulls up the display. He selects a mission, say reconnaissance, and then the operator would select a point on the map where he wants that reconnaissance to occur, and then he hits start,” Bentley explained. “The aircraft Matrix autonomy takes care of everything else along the flight.”
Bentley said the system can adapt to changing environmental and tactical conditions, using onboard sensors to navigate and avoid obstacles, including hazards around landing areas.
“Our whole approach here with the advanced Matrix autonomy is: How do we take the workload off the operator?” he said. “This is not remotely piloted, although you could do that. Our approach here is that this is fully autonomous.”
Communications are designed to be network-agnostic. Bentley identified Starlink or Starshield for beyond-line-of-sight connectivity in the current configuration, alongside tactical mobile ad-hoc networking (MANET) equipment for line-of-sight communications.
MATRIX is also used in other Sikorsky autonomy efforts, including the fully uncrewed U-Hawk drone, seen in the video below, and the company’s optionally piloted Black Hawk concept. A common tablet interface could help operators manage different autonomous aircraft without needing a separate control system for each.
H-60 U-Hawk uncrewed cargo helicopter walk-around tour
Nomad 100 originated under DARPA’s EVADE program, which sought to develop a vertical-lift uncrewed aircraft capability. Bentley said two customers associated with the program had placed initial orders, with additional interest from domestic and international customers.
Sikorsky has a contract for three Nomad 100s under EVADE. The company announced in July that the first had been delivered to the customer, while a second was entering flight testing at the time of the interview. The U.S. Marine Corps is also buying two Nomad 100s, Bentley told Army Times.
Sikorsky is developing the larger Nomad 500, which will offer greater payload capacity, longer range, and increased power output. One Nomad 500 can fit in a 20-foot container, while three can be transported in a 40-foot container, according to Bentley. The largest member of the family, the Nomad 1000, requires a 40-foot container for a single aircraft.
The Fast Pack concept reflects a broader effort to make autonomous aircraft easier to deploy and sustain as military forces disperse across larger operating areas. Its appeal lies not just in the Nomad 100’s combination of vertical takeoff and long-range flight, but in packaging multiple aircraft and their supporting equipment into a single, relocatable system. That could be especially valuable in the Indo-Pacific, where long distances, limited infrastructure, and the vulnerability of fixed operating bases pose major challenges.
Contact the author: thomas@thewarzone.com
NO signal, no all-you-can-eat buffet and your bed is next to hundreds of shipping containers – it’s certainly not your average cruise.
Yet this didn’t stop passenger Pieter Stroop Van Renen from shelling out £850 to travel for a week on board the shipping boat.
Pieter, 59,said he was stunned to realise you could pay to travel onboard the ships that are usually for cargo rather than leisure.
Talking to The Sun, he said he jumped at the chance to go on one and loved the idea of being the “only passenger onboard.”
Paying around €1,000 (£848) to travel aboard the Elbcarrier, the 140m-long vessel sailing was from Rotterdam to Dublin and back again.
It’s safe to say that the ship is the opposite of a luxury liner – there’s no infinity pool, no cocktail-fuelled small talk with fellow tourists and no breakfast buffet.
The first major difference from a commercial cruise was before the journey even began – as nobody could tell Pieter exactly when the ship would leave.
Even in the week before his holiday, he did not know whether he would depart on the Friday, Saturday or Sunday.
Pieter eventually boarded the Elbcarrier at 4pm on Saturday – but the ship did not set sail until 12 hours later, at four in the morning.
As he waited, confined to his cabin while loading was completed, the reality of spending several days aboard a working cargo ship began to sink in.
Peter said: “I thought, will I get bored, or will I get seasick, or what happens there? Where can I walk? Who are these guys, and do they know I’m coming?”
But that wasn’t a problem for Pieter, who instead spent hours on the bridge watching the captain and officers navigate, studying the ship’s radar screens, chatting to the crew and touring the engine room.
Pieter continued: “The bridge was beautiful at night. They keep the lights off, so it’s pitch black outside and all you can see are the navigation lights and the equipment glowing in the darkness. It was magical.”
At the invitation of the captain, Pieter had one of the best seats in the house as the vessel headed out towards the North Sea.
The journey to Dublin usually takes at least 48 hours by sea, but Pieter’s crossing lasted around 52 hours.
Pieter also couldn’t wander about as he pleased on deck – passengers aren’t allowed to walk between the stacks of containers, which can tower four or five containers high.
Pieter explained: “If something happens [and one falls], then you’re crushed and you’re dead.”
Mealtimes gave him another taste of life aboard a working ship.
Pieter’s ticket included three hot meals a day – there were fried eggs for breakfast and hearty dinners of meat and vegetables in the evening.
What Pieter had not prepared for was getting peckish between meals – but luckily the captain sold chocolate bars and cans of beer.
Sleeping was another challenge altogether because while daytime conditions were relatively calm, it’s a different story at night.
Pieter explained: “You’re just rolling in your bed from left to right continuously. I didn’t get seasick. But I didn’t sleep at all at night.”
He warned that anyone particularly prone to seasickness should think carefully before following his lead – especially as there’s no getting off the boat for excursions like on a usual cruise.
Anyone expecting to spend the voyage scrolling TikTok will also be disappointed as on the Irish Sea, there’s no connection whatsoever.
Pieter had to wait until he was back on dry land before posting about his experience on social media – where clips from the trip unexpectedly took off.
While the internet is impressed with his thirst for adventure, his family, however, were less enthusiastic about joining him on board a working ship.
He said: “I couldn’t get them to come. They would never do this. So, time for myself.”
To see more of Pieter’s container ship holiday, head here.
