Aurora Flight Sciences Corporation (Aurora) says it has successfully completed the first flight of the Excalibur Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS).
The vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) turbine hybrid electric unmanned air vehicle is the first of a new class of tactical unmanned combat air vehicles. The first flight took place at Aberdeen Proving Grounds,
“It was a flawless first flight with a crisp takeoff and perfect landing. In flight, the hover stability and heading control performance were excellent,” affirmed Aurora President, John Langford.
Excalibur’s unique configuration enables both VTOL and high-speed flight modes at speeds up to 400 knots; thereby providing the warfighter with a survivable capability for quick response weapons delivery or logistics resupply from remote, austere forward operating bases or from air cable ships operating in the littorals.
The Excalibur proof-of-concept vehicle combines jet-borne vertical lift with three electric lift fans to provide attitude control and a significant fraction of hover thrust.
The fully autonomous vehicle management and flight control systems simplify the operator task allowing operators to focus on mission objectives.
Mission planning and operator command and control was achieved using
The Excalibur UAS was developed by