Aurora Notches More DARPA Funding for Its X-Plane Contender

On April 30, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded Aurora a $25 million contract modification to continue working on its version of the Speed and Runway Independent Technologies (SPRINT) entry, a notable boost from the previous $4.2 million award.

Also referred to as the X-Plane, the program is looking for a candidate that can fly at speeds of 400 to 450 knots (far exceeding the 270-knot maximum speed of the V-22 Osprey) and be able to hover “in a stable manner” and transition from hover to forward flight. The X-Plane will also “feature a distributed energy system that effectively powers all the propulsion technology during that transition,” according to Defense News.

Three other contenders are in the X-Plane hunt: Bell Textron, Northrop Grumman and Piasecki Aircraft. But Aurora, a Boeing subsidiary, is the only competitor to receive upgraded funding.

The new conceptual art released Monday shows an uncrewed aircraft (in contrast with previous concepts that showed cockpit windows) with a composite exterior. Aurora said it could add more fan-in-wing lift fans to the design should Pentagon requirements change in the future. It could also reinstate the crewed aircraft configuration.

Aurora concluded that its SPRINT/X-Plane design team projects finishing the preliminary design review of its entry in about a year, with the goal of first flight within three years.

Editor’s Note: This article first appeared on AVweb.