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AFWERX Agility Prime Completes First USAF-piloted Flight of an eVTOL Vehicle with Partner Kitty Hawk

Saturday, January 29th, 2022

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFNS) —

The AFWERX Agility Prime program took another step forward in December with the first government remotely piloted flight of an electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing, or eVTOL, aircraft.

Capt. Terrence McKenna, an Air Force Reserve pilot with the 370th Flight Test Squadron and the Test and Experimentation Lead for AFWERX Agility Prime, participated in remote pilot in control, or rPIC, training on the Heaviside aircraft at the Kitty Hawk Corporation’s facility in Palo Alto, California from Dec. 13-17, 2021.

The training culminated in the first government remote piloted flight of an eVTOL aircraft when he successfully flew the Heaviside via the Buddy Box System. This first Airman flight demonstrated another key milestone in the collaboration.

Kitty Hawk, in partnership with Agility Prime, is evaluating a training syllabus for their unmanned eVTOL aircraft, the Heaviside. McKenna’s 15-plus years of expertise piloting manned aircraft such as the C-5 Galaxy and the T-38 Talon, as well as designing, developing, and testing manned and small unmanned aircraft systems, or sUAS, as a civilian engineer, assisted Kitty Hawk’s team of engineers in refining both their product and their training procedures.

Kitty Hawk: Building on the Wright Brothers’ Legacy

Kitty Hawk Corporation was founded in 2010 by Sebastian Thrun and is backed by Google co-founder Larry Page. Their series of Heaviside aircraft are just several in a line of over 20 various eVTOL prototypes. Kitty Hawk is headquartered in Palo Alto, California and conducts much of its testing there. In July 2021, the U.S. Air Force granted Kitty Hawk airworthiness approval, enabling the company to take advantage of additional testing opportunities through a partnership with Agility Prime.

Josh Lane, a flight test engineer for Agility Prime, began working with Kitty Hawk in March 2021 and has collaborated with Kitty Hawk to develop test plans supporting their prototype testing and goals to commercialization.

Focusing on Federal Aviation Administration revised Part 23, the safety standards and type certification requirements for small aircraft, and other potentially relevant parts of the Code of Federal Regulations, eVTOL companies like Kitty Hawk gained a greater understanding of the requirements they would have to comply with in order to gain type certification. However, Lane explained that the road to certification for eVTOLs is an ongoing, collaborative process.

“These are new designs that don’t fit the FAA mold, and there’s not a 100 percent fit in some of these companies’ cases, so there’s a lot of engagement going on getting this path to a certified FAA aircraft,” Lane said. “They’re using baseline parts and working with the FAA to determine what that certification basis is and what areas to be adjusted and addressed.”

McKenna concurred, saying, “Agility Prime is figuring out how we approach training for these types of aircraft. This is a whole new ballpark.”

The Heaviside Aircraft

Named for the English engineer, physicist, and mathematician Oliver Heaviside, the Heaviside is Kitty Hawk’s current flying model. The company has worked through several iterations of this vehicle and are in the planning stages for the next.

The Heaviside was first deployed in 2019 after nearly a decade of development. This aircraft’s maximum takeoff weight is approximately 880 pounds, allowing for a passenger up to about 176 pounds. Heaviside can travel at speeds of roughly 180 miles per hour, but most significantly, it remains quiet: only about 35 decibels at 1,500 feet above ground level, which is slightly louder than a whisper and about 100 times quieter than a helicopter. Additionally, Heaviside has demonstrated 237 transitions between hover and forward flight, as well as a range of 100 miles on a single charge.

Heaviside takes advantage of several advanced technologies, such as Distributed Electric Propulsion, as this aircraft has eight fully electric propellers. Additionally, Lane explains that Kitty Hawk has refined its use of automated flight capabilities through its Ground Control Station, or GCS; engineers can upload a flight plan, telling the vehicle to fly to certain locations, and the Heaviside can perform the entire flight profile without human intervention.

However, a training feature of the Heaviside is the Buddy Box setup, which is a secondary remote controller wired to a primary controller. This system is intended for the use of an instructor and a student performing the duties of an external pilot in manual flight mode; the trainee handles and operates the aircraft while the instructor provides supervision and support.

The Buddy Box system works much like a driver’s education car: the driving instructor is in the passenger seat and allows the student to manually operate the vehicle, but is ultimately in full control and able to brake if necessary. Likewise, for a Buddy Box setup, the instructor can override any direction that the rPIC gives the aircraft from the primary controller.

The Heaviside and future models will not rely on an external pilot for flight operations, but utilizing this training method now affords the opportunity for more immediate and qualitative feedback on the aircraft, while also building out a training syllabus for the GCS operator.

Training with Capt. Terrence McKenna

Though the current training plan for the Heaviside includes a five-day familiarization course and a 12-day rPIC qualification course, McKenna participated in elements of only the familiarization course.

Kitty Hawk utilizes techniques such as Scenario-Based Training, which is derived from the FAA’s Airmen Certification Standards and places the student in lifelike situations in order to complete each lesson objective. Additionally, Kitty Hawk employs Learner-Centered Grading, allowing students to assess their own performance in open conversation with their instructor.

Agility Prime chose McKenna to participate in this training because he fulfilled Kitty Hawk’s trainee prerequisites, which include possessing either a military pilot rating or an FAA Part 107 and 61 certificate. Through a building-block approach, students must also demonstrate proficiency in flying smaller remote control, or RC, aircraft, such as fixed-wing aircraft and quadcopter, before graduating to the Heaviside.

During the week in California, McKenna primarily concentrated on the duties of the external pilot, flying in manual mode, rather than automated flight and operating the GCS. Days 1 and 2 focused on ground academics, including simulation training, preflight checklists, and exposure to the Heaviside’s GCS. Inclement weather kept the aircraft grounded, but McKenna reported a productive day of reviewing operations and discussing syllabus development.

Then, on Day 3, after completing several flights on smaller remote control aircraft, McKenna successfully piloted the first U.S. Air Force flight of an Agility Prime-sponsored vehicle, navigating the Heaviside through the sky as the External Pilot at Kitty Hawk’s test site. By the end of the day, McKenna had conducted three successful flights, focusing on vertical maneuvers, takeoff and landing, manipulation on all axes, auto-hover, and manual flight.

McKenna described that operating as the external pilot allows pilots to get a feel for what the aircraft is capable of as it moves through the sky.

“It’s a different paradigm for operating the aircraft,” McKenna said. “A crucial thing that the RC controller allows you to do that a completely unmanned or a completely ground-controlled station based approach does not is [gain] that intuition about the flight characteristics of the aircraft that are so important [for operational employment].”

Days 4 and 5 concluded the week by training McKenna on fixed-wing flight, outbound and inbound transitions to vertical flight, and flying full profiles. McKenna reported enthusiastic satisfaction with the tested training methods from Agility Prime, Air Education and Training Command’s Det 62, and Kitty Hawk.

“I feel very confident in the training [including] pre-study, ground academics, simulation work, and surrogate flights to get us to this point,” McKenna said.

Syllabus Development in Partnership with AETC’s Detachment 62

While McKenna indeed learned to remotely pilot the Heaviside, a crucial objective of the weeklong exercise was to evaluate and improve the training plan itself for future operations.

“The main objective is to help collaboratively develop syllabi for these platforms with Kitty Hawk and our AETC detachment [Det 62],” McKenna said.

To monitor and evaluate McKenna’s training process, AETC sent out Det 62 personnel to lend their experience with developing flight training plans. The Det 62 team worked closely with Kitty Hawk and the Agility Prime test team to draft an initial syllabus for McKenna for test and training. The team coordinated with Kitty Hawk’s analysts, as well as Agility Prime, to observe, gather data, review training processes, and conduct detailed debriefs along the way. Moreover, Brittney Tough, Kitty Hawk’s senior flight training manager, also brought extensive knowledge and experience to the table and served as an asset to government flight test teams.

“There’s an opportunity between the military and the civilians to learn from each other on good practices and approaches to training plan development,” Lane said. “I’m certain that there’s going to be some learning going in both directions.”

Looking forward to the potential military utility of the Heaviside, Lane expressed the vitality of the AETC’s presence at and contribution to the project.

“It’s huge that AETC sent out this detachment, and they’re doing this early work to lower risk and pave the path for integrating one or more of these companies’ systems into military use, and trying to make sure that’s as seamless as possible,” Lane said.

Lane and McKenna both emphasized the importance of Agility Prime’s early involvement and cooperation with industry in order to accelerate the development of the eVTOL market.

“There’s three legs to the stool: training, the aircraft itself, and the logistics to support it,” Lane explained. “The typical goal is to have your training system in place, so that when you field a system, you have people that are ready to use it.”

McKenna spoke to the success of Air Force early involvement through Agility Prime with eVTOL companies like Kitty Hawk.

“That interaction is paying dividends, and it’s continuing to grow,” he said. “Firsthand, I’ve seen that interaction prove fruitful on both ends.”

Additional Successes: BVLOS Flight and FlyOhio

The first U.S. Air Force-piloted flight of an eVTOL builds on recent highlights and milestones in the Agility Prime program. On Nov. 10, 2021, Kitty Hawk successfully completed its first beyond visual line of sight, or BVLOS, flight during the Ohio Advanced Air Mobility Showcase, organized by FlyOhio, at the Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport, near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

“The Air Force has been a strong partner for us as we bring eVTOLs closer to being ready for human flight,” said Sebastian Thrun, Kitty Hawk chief executive officer. “In Ohio, we hit an important milestone making us the first UAM provider to fly a remotely-piloted aircraft BVLOS in a non-restricted air space.”

Using SkyVision, a ground-based detect-and-avoid system developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory, in conjunction with the Ohio Department of Transportation, Kitty Hawk safely maneuvered Heaviside among other manned flight traffic.

“The Heaviside BVLOS testing provides an excellent example of Agility Prime’s aim to partner with industry and provide access to key government test resources, such as SkyVision, and [this] expertise continues to help advance the commercial eVTOL industry,” said Col. Nathan Diller, AFWERX director.

Heaviside’s Goals and Ecosystem Impact

The Heaviside’s utility extends into both the commercial and military worlds. Kitty Hawk hopes to provide a commercial air taxi service, but their eVTOL presents a multitude of opportunities for both civilian and government use.

Ultimately, Kitty Hawk hopes to lower costs with their vehicle, making aerial ridesharing more accessible and affordable to the general population.

McKenna noted that potential military and industry use cases largely overlap for the Heaviside: the aircraft could transport injured personnel, evacuate people from hostile territories, deliver cargo or first aid, make emergency medical services more accessible in rural areas or congested cities, and assist with firefighting or search and rescue operations, among many other potential scenarios.

“What we’re trying to do is develop a training pipeline in the Air Force to understand these types of aircraft,” McKenna said. “If we can get a joint Air Force-industry experimentation team, we can now open the aperture on engagements for these types of aircraft dramatically.”

Regardless of how these vehicles are put to use post-certification, Lane drew attention to the practicality of implementing eVTOL aircraft into society. Though Prime focuses on how the Heaviside and its competitors affect the National Airspace System, new eVTOL technology will impact the entire aviation ecosystem.

“Most simplistically, it’s more than just aircraft; it’s these airsystems and the entire ecosystem that they will fly in and that need to support them,” Lane said. “There’s research and testing activity going on to develop, enhance, and bolster the National Airspace System so that we can start incorporating these new capabilities.”

Overall, both McKenna and Lane praised the teamwork necessary to achieve this milestone flight.

“We’re establishing the interaction and the processes to make sure everything is vetted and approved and done in a safe manner,” McKenna said. “It’s a great way to accelerate innovation, supporting industry and keeping up with them. It’s been a great team effort, and I’m excited about how it came together.”

By Katie Milligan, AFWERX

Posted in Air Force, Aviation, Guest Post, Research | Comments Off on AFWERX Agility Prime Completes First USAF-piloted Flight of an eVTOL Vehicle with Partner Kitty Hawk

MOSA Expedites Army Modernization Efforts at Aviation, Missile Center

Saturday, January 15th, 2022

REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. — It’s more than just a buzzword — it’s the way of the future for Army aviation.

MOSA — modular open systems architecture (or approach) — has become a popular term in recent years in the defense community, but it’s something the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Aviation & Missile Center’s Joint Technology Center/System Integration Laboratory has worked on for years. That expertise and baseline is helping the DEVCOM Aviation & Missile Center adapt technologies quickly, efficiently and at a lower cost to support Army modernization efforts.

“While it’s a new term today, for us it’s business as usual,” said Joe Reis, Multiple Unified Simulation Environment lead for the JSIL. “We’ve been striving for the last 10 years to try to break our software down into components so it can be reused. Wherever possible, we started adopting all these different standard protocols with the vision of being able to reuse those components and being able to integrate with more than just ourselves. With that we’re able to stretch into areas we never have before.”

At DEVCOM AvMC, the MOSA success story starts with MUSE — the Multiple Unified Simulation Environment — a command and staff trainer. Originally created to provide Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance simulation capabilities, today the government-developed and sustained MUSE software baseline is being used in a variety of systems, including advanced teaming, part of AvMC’s support to the Future Vertical Lift Cross-Functional Team. The JSIL works primarily with unmanned aircraft systems, to include Shadow, Gray Eagle, Reaper and Global Hawk.

“The MUSE baseline was the foundational software that we began with for the Advanced Teaming effort,” said JSIL Software Lead James Bowman III. “We’ve been modifying and enhancing the MUSE baseline for over 20 years, by incorporating customer capability requests, keeping pace with industry standards and maintaining an accreditation (Authority to Operate — ATO). It would not have been possible for the Army to constitute the capabilities inherent in MUSE in time to meet the needs of Army Futures Command.”

“We’ve leaped into this research and development field instead of just being a trainer, because of being able to break these components down,” Reis added.

For the AvMC team, that is the whole point of MOSA — delivering solutions expeditiously to the Army and the Warfighter.

“MOSA is taking a modular approach, and for us, that’s just not theoretical,” Bowman said. “Software modularity allows the teams to share components across our enterprise, thereby negating duplicative efforts. It is paramount that the government continue to address intelligent software design, since it is our responsibility to provide quality solutions to and for the Warfighter that are concurrently cost-optimal for the government.

“We work to ensure that there is an intentionality to identifying common capabilities, already resident in MUSE, in order to exploit for utilization in our UAS Trainer solutions. Obviously, if not properly implemented, there can be challenges with code synchronization. JSIL addresses this by adhering to industry standard software processes and by utilizing Azure DevOps to ensure solution integrity. Consequently, stove-pipe solutions are a thing of the past. Once a bug is fixed in a component, all software that utilizes that component inherits the benefits of the fix.”

Another MOSA success story is the JSIL’s support to the Synthetic Training Environment Cross-Functional Team. The Reconfigurable Virtual Collective Trainer-Air uses the MUSE baseline foundationally, merged with work the JSIL did for the Air Force, to create a UAS software baseline for the RVCT-A.

“We would not have been able to support the high op-tempo of the RVCT-A effort had we not leveraged and utilized this MOSA construct,” Bowman said. “We continue to be energized about the possibilities of utilizing the MUSE and collective decades of UAS modeling and simulation domain knowledge to address current and emerging requirements.”

What’s next for MOSA at AvMC? The JSIL team will support swarming unmanned aircraft systems, part of the work being done with Advanced Teaming and Air Launched Effects. That effort includes incorporating an Army Game Studio Image Generator, which will reduce the money spent for commercial off the shelf rendering engine licenses and maintenance fees, a price tag that runs over $1 million alone for one UAS variant.

“If we can take that million-dollar expenditure and invest it in an existing GOTS image generator, that cost just goes away,” Bowman said. “MOSA is not just some buzzword, in our view, the implementation thereof provides tangible evidence of how we save the Army money, and how we get solutions to the soldier expeditiously, because we’re constantly building on a pre-existing, well-vetted, foundation.”

AvMC supports a variety of partners with MOSA, to include Program Executive Office Aviation; PEO Simulation, Training and Instrumentation; the Air Force Agency for Modeling and Simulation; PEO Intelligence Electronic Warfare & Sensors; and the FVL and Synthetic Training Environment CFTs.

“All of this work that we have done and are very proud of also has a global impact,” Bowman said. “We work with coalition partners, and because we adhere to these standards, when we show up to an exercise, not only are we operating our simulation, our coalition partners ask us at times to help them and we do that proudly. We’re U.S. citizens working with our coalition partners that are going to go to battle with us in the event that hostilities break out. We’re very proud to work with these standards to support not just the U.S., but its partners.”

By Amy Tolson, DEVCOM Aviation & Missile Center Public Affairs

Posted in Army, Aviation, Guest Post, Research | Comments Off on MOSA Expedites Army Modernization Efforts at Aviation, Missile Center

NATO Mountain Warfare Rescue Exercise in Slovenia

Thursday, December 30th, 2021

This video of a recent NATO Mountain Warfare Rescue exercise in Slovenia features the Gravity Industries Jet Suit.

Posted in Aviation, Disruptive Tech | 7 Comments »

TacJobs – Blue Air Training Seeks Fighter Pilots

Wednesday, December 29th, 2021

The holidays are a great time to reflect on what is important to ourselves and our family. It’s time to ask if we are fulfilled professionally and personally. At Blue Air Training, we are looking to hire leaders who are ready to take their career and life to the next level. Join an elite team, continue supporting our Nation’s Warfighters and make a real difference in the world.

Check out our CAREERS page for all available positions.

Posted in Aviation, TacJobs | Comments Off on TacJobs – Blue Air Training Seeks Fighter Pilots

Marine Pilots Hone Proficiency in Information, Electronic Warfare

Sunday, December 19th, 2021

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION MIRAMAR, Calif. —

Marine pilots refocus their priorities, opting to train their electronic warfare capabilities to defeat adversaries in the information environment aboard Marine Corps Air Station Camp Pendleton, Dec. 2-3.

The training enabled U.S. Marines from Marine Light Attack Helicopter Squadron (HMLA) 267 to familiarize themselves with the AN/ALQ-231 Intrepid Tiger II Electronic Warfare pod from signals intelligence specialists with Team Ronin of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing intelligence section.

The IT II is a precision, on-demand, external carriage EW weapon system designed to provide Marine Corps aircraft with an organic, distributed and networked EW capability that can be controlled from the cockpit or by a ground operator. Its open architecture design and rapid reprogrammability give IT II the flexibility and adaptability to meet current and future threats.

The Marines of HMLA-267 are the first squadron in the 3rd MAW to conduct this style of training on the IT II with Team Ronin. Team Ronin’s signals intelligence and electronic warfare chief, Master Sgt. Chris Meser, expects to continue building familiarization with additional squadrons.

“The training was crucial in enhancing our readiness and capability,” said Meser. “By integrating with our organic rotary wing squadrons, this allowed for an improved concept of employment for future operations. This was the first of many in the training series for Electronic Warfare Integration. We intend to help foster an environment which provides a greater contribution to Operations in the Information Environment & Intelligence efforts.”

Training began with hands-on time with the IT II to develop a cursory understanding of its capabilities. Later, the system was loaded onto a UH-1Y Venom before running a variety of test-missions across its capability set to demonstrate its rapid reprogrammability. Once the practical application portion was completed, training concluded with signals intelligence specialists briefing all the systems capabilities and limitations to the pilots of HMLA-267.

1st Lt. Dylan Wesseling, intelligence officer for HMLA-267, was one of the training participants. “Communications jamming is going to be key in breaking down the kill chain for the enemy, and exploiting possible vulnerabilities,” said Wesseling. “The IT II provides the HMLA an organic electronic attack and electronic warfare support capability that is more accessible than the Marine Corps’ other high-demand, low-density assets, and I think that’s going to vital in a high-traffic littoral and maritime environment.”

While the IT II has been used in conflicts dating back to Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation Enduring Freedom, this was the first time many of the participants got the opportunity to train with the system. Given the renewed emphasis EW is expected to play on the next battlefield, the trainees appreciated the opportunity.

“The IT II is something that allows us to be relevant when coupled with the other capabilities of the HMLA,” Wesseling continued. “There’s no sugarcoating it. The next fight is going to be tough, but training that acknowledges our need to exploit the enemy’s dependence on technology and communications are exactly what we need to come out of that conflict as the winners.”

Team Ronin is next expected to put their knowledge of the IT II to the test in February 2022 for Exercise Winter Fury 2022. Winter Fury 2022 is a capstone annual exercise that allows the 3rd MAW to refine and validate emerging service level and unit level concepts that enhance aviation readiness in support of Fleet Marine Force and naval fleet maritime campaigns. Meser plans to distribute his team throughout 3rd MAW with various rotary wing squadrons, now that his Marines have a strong foundation in the fundamentals and can teach others in a field environment. Team Ronin also expects to work with the U.S. Navy aircraft participating in Winter Fury 2022 to enhance their ability to work as a joint littoral force.

This iteration of training utilized the IT II V(3), which can be employed on the UH-1Y Venom and AH-1Z Viper. This asset is not limited to these platforms alone. Other versions include the V(4), which was recently tested on the MV-22 Osprey, and the V(1), which can be flown on the AV-8B Harrier, F/A-18 C/D Hornets, and KC-130J Super Hercules aircraft.

3rd MAW continues to “Fix, Fly and Fight” as the Marine Corps’ largest aircraft wing, and remains combat-ready, deployable on short notice, and lethal when called into action.

Story by 1st Lt Kyle McGuire, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing

Photo by Sgt Samuel Ruiz

Posted in Aviation, CEMA, Guest Post, USMC | 1 Comment »

Rapid Dragon’s First Live Fire Test of a Palletized Weapon System Deployed from a Cargo Aircraft Destroys Target

Friday, December 17th, 2021

EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, FLORIDA (AFRL) – The Air Force Rapid Dragon Program, a fast-paced experimentation campaign led by the Air Force Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation (SDPE) office, successfully completed its final flight test December 16 at the Eglin AFB Overwater Test Range.

The flight test capstoned a 2-year series and culminated in a live fire of a current inventory cruise missile armed with a live warhead. Rapid Dragon demonstrates the ability to employ weapons using standard airdrop procedures from cargo aircraft using the Rapid Dragon Palletized Weapon System.

The program name is derived from a thousand-year-old Chinese military designed crossbow catapult that launched multiple crossbow bolts with the pull of a single trigger, raining destruction down on armies from tremendous ranges. These lethal devices were called Ji Long Che—Rapid Dragon Carts. Today, the Rapid Dragon concept is changing the game again, this time as an airborne delivery system for U.S. Air Force weapons. And like its namesake, these palletized munitions promise to unleash mighty salvos en masse on distant adversaries.

During the December test, an MC-130J flown by an Air Force Special Operations Command operational flight crew, received new targeting data while in flight which was then routed to the cruise missile flight test vehicle (FTV). The aircraft agnostic Battle Management System’s inflight receipt and upload of the new targeting data into the FTV was a first-time achievement with a live cruise missile.

Once inside the drop zone over the Gulf of Mexico, the MC-130J aircrew airdropped a four-cell Rapid Dragon deployment system containing the FTV and three mass simulants, which were sequentially released from the palletized deployment box while under parachute. Safe separation from the deployment box and weapon deconfliction was demonstrated using an unconventional deployment method (nose-down vertical orientation). Immediately after the vertical release, the FTV deployed its wings and tail, achieved aerodynamic control, ignited its engine, performed a powered pull-up maneuver, and proceeded toward its newly assigned target. The cruise missile successfully destroyed its target upon impact.

The next step for the Rapid Dragon Program will be a live-fire test with a cruise missile from a C-17 in Spring 2022, demonstrating the aircraft agnostic capabilities of the Palletized Weapon System. Of note, the new retargeting methodology developed by the Rapid Dragon team is designed to be transferrable to other strike and cargo platforms, potentially increasing the lethality of those aircraft. Lastly, a follow-on program will look at expanding the Rapid Dragon carriage portfolio to include additional weapon systems and multiple effects capabilities, as well as continuing the maturation of the system, taking it from a developmental prototype to an operational prototype over the next two years.

“This type of experimentation campaign, that address capability gaps and demonstrates transformative efforts, helps us shape future requirements and reduces timeline to fielding,” said Maj. Gen. Heather Pringle, Air Force Research Laboratory commander, adding “This approach ultimately enables a rapid fielding alternative to traditional lengthy acquisition timelines.”

In addition to SDPE and AFSOC, demonstration participants included the Naval Surface Warfare Center-Dahlgren; Standoff Munitions Application Center; Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control; Systima Technologies; Safran Electronics & Defense, Parachutes USA, and R4 Integration, Inc.

Agility and collaboration enabled this government/industry team to go from a design to a system level flight test in 10 months, followed by a live fire five months later. During those last five months, Rapid Dragon has conducted five system level flight tests using three different aircraft (MC-130J, EC-130SJ, and C-17A).

“Rapid Dragon is a prime example of a government/industry partnership that embraces this acceleration mindset, building a community of subject matter experts and executing an aggressive, but well-thought-out, experimentation campaign,” said Dr. Dean Evans, SDPE’s Rapid Dragon Program Manager. This sentiment was echoed by Aaron Klosterman, SDPE’s Experimentation & Prototyping Division Chief when he said, “This accomplishment is a testament to what an agile U.S. Air Force and industry team can do when it is empowered to do business differently.”

The successful Rapid Dragon experiments pave the way for U.S. and allied mobility platforms to dramatically increase fires available for a combatant commander to place more adversary targets at risk.

“Rapid Dragon was able to accelerate development by building a broad and strong team. We were committed to a ’test often/learn-fast’ culture, dedicated to experimenting frequently and taking calculated risks. In addition to the MAJCOMs and Air Staff, the Rapid Dragon team included the Developmental Test (DT) and Operational Test (OT) communities, the aircraft and weapons Program Offices, and the mission planners. This collaboration from the onset streamlined the process and accelerated development, involving groups from the program inception that are not normally included at the very early stages, and that has made all the difference,” Evans added.

By Air Force Research Laboratory Public Affairs

Posted in Air Force, Aviation, Guest Post, SOF, weapons | 7 Comments »

Air Force to Field New Bladder Relief Device, Works Toward ‘Suite of Options’

Saturday, December 11th, 2021

JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va. (AFNS) —

The Air Force is scheduled to receive the first shipment of the Omni Gen. 3 Skydrate, an improved in-flight bladder relief device, in early December.

The Air Force recognized that current devices were not optimized for long-duration sorties, and as a result, aircrew were routinely dehydrating themselves to delay the need for bladder relief. Dehydration can lead to reduced endurance and G-force tolerance while in the aircraft, as well as other negative health issues.

Air Combat Command was the lead command in determining the new bladder relief device requirements for pilots across the Air Force.

“Gen. (Mark) Kelly is focused on reducing predictable barriers to readiness for Airmen,” said Scott Cota, aircrew flight equipment program analyst, ACC Plans, Programs and Requirements directorate, Joint Base Langley-Eustis. “This is just one of the programs we are working on here that will make it easier for Airmen to train and execute their missions.”

ACC worked closely with Air Force Materiel Command and other Air Force units to develop and test Skydrate within a year. Thirty female aircrew were on site at the Omni facility to conduct multi-hour wear tests; nine pilots, at three installations, participated in the flight testing.

“This is a good example of using a ‘fly, fix, fly’ model to prioritize female aircrew feedback and speed up the testing process to field the device quicker,” said Sharon Rogers, lead test engineer, 46th Test Squadron, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.

Skydrate is available for men and women, but there was an emphasis on engineering solutions for female aircrew. Improvements include a larger collection bag, improved flow rate, multiple hose lengths, one-hand operation for on/off functionality, and more interface, or pad, sizes to account for anatomical differences in the wearer.

For Maj. Nikki Yogi, an F-35A Lightning II pilot who participated in the Omni device tests, readiness is at the heart of the issue. Yogi is assigned to the 356th Fighter Squadron at Eielson AFB, Alaska, under Pacific Air Forces Command. Pilots responding to threats in that region must be prepared for long sorties. A routine flight to Guam is approximately 10 hours.

“A pilot should be focused on taking the fight to the enemy, not on whether their bladder relief device is going to work or be comfortable to use,” she said.

Yogi had a poor experience with her device while deployed as an A-10C Thunderbolt II pilot in 2017. As a junior pilot, she did not immediately raise the issue – something she wants to spare future female pilots. She has volunteered for a variety of equipment tests since returning from that deployment.

“It’s important to provide feedback because it’s that feedback that drives change,” she said.

Aircrew will have access to Skydrate by Spring of 2022. The Human Systems Program Office, a subdivision of the Agile Combat Support Directorate, at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, is currently reviewing proposals from multiple companies for alternative bladder relief devices with new pumps and innovative human interfaces, which are expected to field within the next year to users. A suite of bladder relief devices will give Airmen the opportunity to choose the most comfortable human interface option while allowing them to focus on executing the mission.

By Jennifer Kennemer, Air Combat Command Public Affairs

Posted in Air Force, Aviation, Guest Post | Comments Off on Air Force to Field New Bladder Relief Device, Works Toward ‘Suite of Options’

USAF Orders 15 Silent Arrow Precision Guided Cargo Delivery Drones

Monday, December 6th, 2021

World’s First Production 1-Ton Cargo Delivery Drone to be Scaled Down and Flown to Address New Humanitarian and Tactical Markets

LOS ANGELES, Nov. 29, 2021 — Silent Arrow today announced the United States Air Force, through the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), has awarded the company a contract entitled “Guided Bundle Derivative of Silent Arrow® for Side Door and Palletized Swarm Deployment at High Speeds and Altitudes” effective November 12, 2021.

Under this Small Business Innovation Research (“SBIR”) Phase II contract, the commercially successful Silent Arrow® GD-2000 (Glider, Disposable, 2000 pounds) platform will be scaled down and redesigned as a new product line called the Silent Arrow® Precision Guided Bundle (SA-PGB), which will initially be developed as an autonomous cargo delivery glider. The SA-PGB is specifically designed for side door and multi-unit (swarm) ramp deployment, compatible with a much-expanded fleet of delivery aircraft ranging from the civilian Cessna Caravan to the military C-17.

The SA-PGB will be designed and built at Silent Arrow’s headquarters in Irvine, California and 15 aircraft will be shipped to the company’s flight test center in Pendleton, Oregon for operational evaluations at the Pendleton UAS Test Range. Initial specifications include 500-pound max weight, 350-pound cargo capacity, 39 inches long and deployable from high altitudes and airspeeds.

“We’d like to thank the U.S. Special Operations community, the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Army and various other organizations who signed on to support this award for a new life-saving cargo delivery drone,” said Chip Yates, Silent Arrow’s founder and CEO. “We look forward to an exciting flight test program in 2022 and quickly getting this new capability into the hands of the warfighter and disaster relief organizations alike.”

Silent Arrow’s tightly integrated packaging with its patented spring-deployed wing system, industry-leading payload capacity, 40-mile standoff distance and low unit cost, has received enthusiastic reception from U.S. and foreign customers and is currently being delivered and operated to directly serve heavy-payload, autonomous cargo resupply needs throughout the world.

Posted in Air Force, Aviation, Contracts, Press Release, UAS | Comments Off on USAF Orders 15 Silent Arrow Precision Guided Cargo Delivery Drones