NEW DELHI: The US military plans to launch new uncrewed aircraft that can carry weapons and carry objects vertically (VTOL ) in flight. These experimental vehicles, known as X- planes, could be ready for test flights as early as 2026, according to the Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency ( DARPA ).
The Advanced Aircraft Infrastructure-less Launch And Recovery ( ANCILLARY ) program from DARPA is moving into a new testing phase, where proposed designs will be subjected to an efficiency and risk assessment. The initiative aims to develop X- planes that you work from aviation carriers without the need for runways, supporting earth crew, or infrastructure, enabling them to work in a wider range of battlefield environments.
” X- plane” is a classifier used by the US department of defence ( DOD ) for experimental aircraft. The first staffed vehicle to break the sound barrier in normal flight, the Bell X- 1, and the X- 15, both of which broke records in aerospace with earlier unattainable airspeeds and the effective use of novel propulsion techniques, are among the key X- planes.
Several defence and aerospace contractors, including AeroVironment, Griffon Aerospace, Karem Aircraft, Method Aeronautics, Northrop Grumman, and Sikorsky ( a Lockheed Martin subsidiary ), are bidding for the project.
Each company has proposed special designs for achieving VTOL capabilities, quite as Sikorsky’s battery- driven craft that props itself on its tail and takes off like a helicopter, and Karem Aircraft’s large- fuel- driven vehicle that uses a shifting rotor for lateral take- off and hovering.
In the upcoming years, DARPA hopes to triple its use of uncrewed aerial systems ( UAS ). The Navy could store more of these items aboard ships thanks to the small size and low weight of ANCILLARY X-plans, as opposed to helicopters, and by launching them directly from the deck without the need for specialized equipment.
” 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”, said Steve Komadina, DARPA program manager for ANCILLARY, in DARPA’s press release.
Phase 1b of the ANCILLARY program is currently in progress, with testing scheduled to last for ten months between June 2024 and spring 2025. DARPA will evaluate the designs of the manufacturers during this time based on system safety and hover tests.
The project will then progress to phase 2, where participants will propose details for X- plane design, construction, and test plans. Beginning in 2026, flight tests for the most promising designs are anticipated to be conducted. Komadina added that advancements in sensors, artificial intelligence ( AI), and autonomous vehicle technology could lead to future improvements to ANCILLARY systems.
