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)
Tag: Big Priority
Small, Autonomous Airlifters Becoming Top Priority for US Air Force
Aviation Week reports, “A new type of military airlifter is rising to the top of the U.S. Air Force’s list of modernization priorities: small, autonomous, electric-powered aircraft capable of short takeoffs and landings—and numbering in the hundreds. Air Force Material Command (AFMC) is in the market research phase for the Next-Generation Intratheater Airlift (NGIA) concept. A five-year prototyping program could begin as early as fiscal 2026, leading to the start in the early 2030s.”
Full Story (Aviation Week)