AFS’ Orion: $48M AF contract

WEST POINT, Miss. – The record-breaking unmanned aircraft Orion that is made at Aurora Flight Sciences’ facility in Lowndes County south of the Golden Triangle Regional Airport has a new $48M Air Force contract. The company is banking on Orion, a long-flying, high-altitude UAV, to fly for more than 100 hours without landing. AFS was bought in October by Boeing. Orion has already flown more than 80 hours non-stop, and tests indicate it can go up to 120 hours, and carry 1,000 pounds of cargo. The AF, and other agencies, is hoping to use the UAV for long-term aerial surveillance. The Coast Guard is expected to do test flights, according to industry publications. Work on Orion, which has a long wing span that requires a specially-built addition to Aurora's Lowndes County's facility, began in 2006. The project could peak in 2019. AFS employs about 100 workers at its three-building facility south of Golden Triangle Regional Airport in Columbus. Operations began in 2003 from the Raspet Flight Science Laboratory at Mississippi State University. (Source: Daily Times Leader 01/09/18)