Wednesday, June 26, 2024
Wednesday, June 26, 2024
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is moving ahead with an effort to develop small, ship-launched drones, clearing six companies to advance their designs into a 10-month maturation phase, according to a May 22 agency announcement.
DARPA began this effort, dubbed the advanced aircraft infrastructure-less launch and recovery (ANCILLARY) program, in 2023 when it selected nine contractors for an initial concept design phase to develop autonomous vertical takeoff and landing ‘X-planes’ with Navy and Marine Corps missions in mind.
This initial crop of contractors has now been narrowed down to six competitors -- AeroVironment, Griffon Aerospace, Karem Aircraft, Method Aeronautics, Northrop Grumman and Sikorsky.
Design maturation efforts will focus on “reducing system risks through refined higher-fidelity design and analysis and by conducting component and configuration hover testing,” according to the announcement.
At the conclusion of this 10-month phase, the companies will submit competitive proposals for phase II of the effort, consisting of detailed design, fabrication and flight testing, the notice continues. X-plane flight testing is expected to begin in early 2026.
“The goal of ANCILLARY is to increase small vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) uncrewed aerial system (UAS) capabilities by a factor of three over the current state-of-the-art flying today,” said program manager Steve Komadina in a statement included in the release.
“Our performers are searching for innovative ways to increase payload weight and range/endurance of small, ship-launched UAS by means of novel configurations, propulsion and controls while also removing the need for special infrastructure,” Komadina’s statement continued.
The drones are intended to be deployed and retrieved from Navy ships without large, mechanical launchers or recovery equipment. They will take off and land vertically while carrying “significant payload,” DARPA’s notice adds.
According to a separate notice from AeroVironment announcing the company’s progression into the next program phase, DARPA is targeting a 450-nautical-mile mission radius, over 12 hours of endurance and a 60-pound payload capacity for the system.
While the resulting UAS is intended mostly for use in Navy and Marine Corps missions, other service branches including the Army and Air Force are also interested in the technology for logistics and offensive strike missions, according to DARPA’s notice.