Kacey Roberts
Aurora Flight Sciences, along with its parent company Boeing, will develop the preliminary design review of a high-speed, vertical lift X-plane following a conceptual design review for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
For the PDR phase, the team will create a low-drag, fan-in-wing demonstrator that integrates a blended wing body platform, Aurora said Monday.
The FIW demonstrator will include three lift fans, a more refined and composite exterior and an uncrewed cockpit.
Aurora and Boeing plan to complete the activity within approximately a year, with the objective of achieving the first flight in three years.
In December 2023, DARPA selected Aurora, Bell Textron, Northrop Grumman and Piasecki Aircraft Corp. to prototype an experimental military aircraft capable of vertical take-off and landing in support of DARPA’s Speed and Runway Independent Technologies program.
