Jean-Charles Lede, former autonomy technical adviser at the Air Force Research Laboratory, was appointed as chief technology officer at unmanned aircraft manufacturer RapidFlight.
In his new role, Lede will head RapidFlight’s research and development activities, including engineering, prototype manufacturing, flight operations, project management and intellectual property development, the Manassas, Virginia-headquartered company said Monday.
Prior to joining RapidFlight, Lede was with the Air Force’s scientific research organization and worked closely with the AFRL commander on ongoing and future autonomy research. He was also a program manager at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency from 2013 to 2018.
Jay Gundlach, RapidFlight CEO, said Lede’s expertise in unmanned systems, autonomy and understanding users’ operational requirements will add company value.