DARPA develops unmanned vertical takeoff aircraft able to land in adverse conditions

DARPA develops small military VTOL

DARPA is aiming to develop a revolutionary new vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft. Dubbed ‘ANCILLARY’, or AdvaNced airCraft Infrastructure-Less Launch paAnd RecoverY, the X-Plane program aims to demonstrate critical technologies required for an advanced VTOL, achieving low-weight, high-payload, and long-endurance capabilities. The team’s goal is to build a crewless air system able to launch from ship flight decks and small, austere landing zones in unfavorable weather conditions without launch and recovery equipment, which is commonly required for these systems.

This program is designed to accomplish a small vehicle size that will allow deployment in a variety of settings. ‘The ability for the warfighter to deploy and retrieve such systems in challenging conditions without reliance on infrastructure would minimize personnel, costs, and vulnerability during sensitive operations,’ said Steve Komadina, the DARPA program manager for ANCILLARY.image by DARPA

examining advances vtol architectures 

The secretive Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA (see more here), remarks that the recent advancements in small hybrid electric propulsion systems, high capacity, onboard energy storage —through high-density, low-weight batteries, fuel cells, materials and electronics —, advanced structures, and low-cost manufacturing technologies have enabled new designs to be examined in this technological field.

‘ANCILLARY plans to use a multi-disciplinary approach that will bring together developments in advanced control theory, aerodynamic modelling, and advanced propulsion to solve a combination of challenging design objectives,’ said Komadina. video still by AdvaNced airCraft Infrastructure-Less Launch And RecoverY (ANCILLARY)

video still by AdvaNced airCraft Infrastructure-Less Launch And RecoverY (ANCILLARY)

project info:

name: ANCILLARY

company: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)