AFS funded for VTOL X-Plane

MANASSAS, Va. - Aurora Flight Sciences announced Sept. 30 the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded the firm Phase 1B funding to continue participation in the DARPA Vertical Take Off and Landing Experiment Plane (VTOL X-Plane) program. The project will be located at AFS' Columbus, Miss., production facility, according to a release from U.S. Sen. Thad Cochran. The award is intended to carry Aurora’s participation in the project through a Preliminary Design Review milestone in October 2015. Aurora's VTOL X-plane design seeks to use innovative distributed electric propulsion technology to achieve significant performance advances in both aerodynamics and propulsion. Aurora's team includes Rolls-Royce LibertyWorks, Honeywell, and ThinGap. (Source: Aurora Flight Sciences 09/30/14)