Search

DARPA, Aurora Finish Flight Tests Of Subscale VTOL X-Plane

DARPA, Aurora Finish Flight Tests Of Subscale VTOL X-Plane
The 20-percent scale model of the Aurora LightningStrike Vertical Take-off and Landing Experimental Plane (VTOL X-Plane) undergoes a flight test in Maryland. Photo: Aurora Flight Sciences.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and Aurora Flight Sciences, which are developing an unmanned, tilt-wing, vertical-takeoff-and-landing experimental airplane (VTOL X-Plane) called LightningStrike, have a achieved a significant milestone by completing flight tests of a subscale vehicle demonstrator (SVD).The tests, which ended in early March at Webster Outlying Field in Southern Maryland, demonstrated the ability of the 325-pound SVD to fly vertically, tilt its wings and canards to fly horizontally, and then return to vertical flight, DARPA and Aurora announced…

Subscriber-only content. Please log in below.

Not a subscriber or registered user yet?

Please contact us at clientservices@accessintel.com or call us at 888-707-5814 (Monday – Thursday 9:00 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. and Friday 9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m. ET.), to start a free trial, get pricing information, order a reprint, or post an article link on your website.



Congress Updates

Pentagon Fiscal 2027 Budget To Address Cannibalization Of Parts For F-35, Legislator Says

The Pentagon’s upcoming fiscal 2027 budget request will help reduce the cannibalization of parts for the F-35 fighter by Lockheed Martin [LMT], the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee’s […]


Trump’s $1.15 Trillion Request For DoD Is The ‘New Normal,” HASC Chairman Says

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.—The Trump administration’s nearly $1.2 trillion baseline defense budget request for fiscal year 2027 will be adopted and will be the foundation for the “new normal” going forward, […]


Trump Wants Second Reconciliation Bill On His Desk By June 1

President Donald Trump on Wednesday called on Congress to pass and send a second reconciliation bill to his desk by June 1. The deadline follows congressional Republicans’ backing a pursuit […]


Upgrading Current GPS Ground System “Now a Viable Option,” As GPS OCX Problems Continue, Space Official Says

Upgrades to the GPS ground system–the Architecture Evolution Plan (AEP)–is an option under consideration by the Defense Department’s space acquisition chief, as problems continue in fielding the GPS Next Generation […]