Unmanned Systems Technology reports, “Researchers at Mississippi State University’s Raspet Flight Research Laboratory are flying Aurora Flight Sciences drone, SKIRON-X, as part of a project designed to assist first responders. The Raspet Flight Research Laboratory is leading a groundbreaking initiative to advance Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) for emergency response operations Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS). Aurora Flight Sciences, a Boeing company, provided its Group 2 UAS, SKIRON-X, as the project’s test platform.”
Full Story (Unmanned Systems Technology)
Tag: Aurora Flight Sciences
Aurora Flight Sciences Extends sUAS Range with New Upgrades
Unmanned Systems Technology reports, “Aurora Flight Sciences has begun production of the latest version of its SKIRON-XGroup 2 uncrewed aircraft system (UAS), incorporating upgrades aimed at improving flight performance and operational usability. Now in its third generation, SKIRON-X sUAS received avionics and ground control station (GCS) upgrades, an improved nose cone design, and an optional long-range radio.”
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Aurora Unveils High-Speed VTOL X-Plane Concept Design
Aviation Week reports, “Aurora Flight Sciences on Oct. 8 unveiled new details of a notional operational variant of the fan-in-wing concept it is proposing for a high-speed, vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) X-Plane. The operational version of the Boeing-owned company’s candidate for a DARPA demonstrator program would boast nearly the same wingspan and payload weight of a Lockheed Martin C-130J, yet fly up to 90 kt. faster and be able to take off and land vertically like a helicopter.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)
Aurora Flight Sciences’ sUAS Completes Long-Endurance Flight Test
Unmanned Systems Technology reports, “Aurora Flight Sciences, a Boeing company, recently completed a successful seven-hour flight test of its fuel-cell-powered small uncrewed aircraft system (sUAS), SKIRON-XLE. The test flight, conducted at an airfield in Virginia, represents a significant advancement in flight endurance for the Group 2 platform.”
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Aurora’s Centaur Aircraft Completes In-Air Data Collection
Unmanned Systems Technology reports, “Aurora Flight Sciences has carried out flight testing with its Centaur optionally piloted aircraft (OPA), based on a certified twin-engine general aviation aircraft. Centaur is equipped with an EO/IR camera, maritime surveillance radar, and Automatic Identification System payloads.”
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Aurora Unveils Updated High-Speed VTOL X-Plane Concept for DARPA
Aviation Week reports, “Aurora Flight Sciences has unveiled a refined concept for a fan-in-wing high-speed vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) aircraft as it receives funding to proceed to a preliminary design review under a DARPA project to fly an X-plane demonstrator.”
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Aurora Flight Sciences Reveals Design for DARPA Liberty Lifter Program
Aviation Week reports that “Aurora Flight Sciences has revealed an eight-propulsor, monohull design for the DARPA Liberty Lifter program, which aims to demonstrate a C-17-size, wing-in-ground effect strategic lifter.”
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Video
Artist depiction of the Liberty Lifter program.
(DARPA; YouTube)
Aurora Flight Sciences to Build Spaceplane Launch Platform Aircraft for Virgin Galactic
Space News reports that Virgin Galactic announced Wednesday it signed an agreement with Aurora Flight Sciences “to build two new aircraft that will be used as launch platforms for its next-generation suborbital spaceplanes.” The carrier aircraft “will succeed the original WhiteKnightTwo aircraft.” Aurora “will manufacture components of the aircraft at its factories in Columbus, Mississippi, and Bridgeport, West Virginia. Final assembly of the planes will take place at Virgin’s production facility in Mojave, California.” Virgin Galactic CEO Michael Colglazier said, “Our next-generation motherships are integral to scaling our operations. They will be faster to produce, easier to maintain and will allow us to fly substantially more missions each year.”
Full Story (Space News)