{"id":6444,"date":"2014-02-12T01:12:43","date_gmt":"2014-02-12T01:12:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=6444"},"modified":"2014-02-12T01:12:43","modified_gmt":"2014-02-12T01:12:43","slug":"sci-tech-darpa-ares-to-develop-unmanned-vtol-vehicles-for-front-line-supply-services","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=6444","title":{"rendered":"Sci-Tech: DARPA ARES to develop unmanned VTOL vehicles for front-line supply services"},"content":{"rendered":"

I’m still waiting for my vertical takeoff and landing car but meanwhile\u00a0DARPA<\/a>\u00a0is aiming for medium-scale unmanned ducted fan VTOLs that can bring supplies and other services to places hard-to-reach by helicopters or other means:<\/p>\n

ARES Aims to Provide More Front-line Units with
\nMission-tailored VTOL Capabilities<\/strong>
\n<\/a>Unmanned aerial logistics system would bypass ground-based threats<\/em>
\n and enable faster, more effective delivery of cargo and other essential<\/em>
\n services in hard-to-reach areas<\/em><\/p>\n

U.S. military experience has shown that rugged terrain and threats such as ambushes and Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) can make ground-based transportation to and from the front lines a dangerous challenge. Combat outposts require on average 100,000 pounds of material a week, and high elevation and impassable mountain roads often restrict access. Helicopters are one solution, but the supply of available helicopters can\u2019t meet the demand for their services, which cover diverse operational needs including resupply, tactical insertion and extraction, and casualty evacuation.<\/p>\n

\"ARES<\/a><\/p>\n

To help overcome these challenges, DARPA unveiled the Transformer (TX) program in 2009. Transformer aimed to develop and demonstrate a prototype system that would provide flexible, terrain-independent transportation for logistics, personnel transport and tactical support missions for small ground units. In 2013, DARPA selected the Aerial Reconfigurable Embedded System (ARES) design concept to move forward.<\/p>\n

\u201cMany missions require dedicated vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) assets, but most ground units don\u2019t have their own helicopters,\u201d said\u00a0Ashish Bagai<\/a>, DARPA program manager. \u201cARES would make organic and versatile VTOL capability available to many more individual units. Our goal is to provide flexible, terrain-independent transportation that avoids ground-based threats, in turn supporting expedited, cost-effective operations and improving the likelihood of mission success.\u201d<\/p>\n

ARES would center on a VTOL flight module designed to operate as an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) capable of transporting a variety of payloads. The flight module would have its own power system, fuel, digital flight controls and remote command-and-control interfaces. Twin tilting ducted fans would provide efficient hovering and landing capabilities in a compact configuration, with rapid conversion to high-speed cruise flight similar to small aircraft. The system could use landing zones half the size typically needed by similarly sized helicopters, enabling it to land in rugged terrain and aboard ships.<\/p>\n

It is envisioned that the flight module would travel between its home base and field operations to deliver and retrieve several different types of detachable mission modules, each designed for a specific purpose\u2014cargo pickup and delivery, casualty extraction or airborne intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) capabilities, for instance. The flight module would have a useful load capability of up to 3,000 pounds, more than 40 percent the takeoff gross weight of the aircraft.<\/p>\n

Units could direct the flight modules using apps on their mobile phones or ruggedized tablets. Initially, the system would be unmanned, with a future path towards semi-autonomous flight systems and user interfaces for optionally manned\/controlled flight.<\/p>\n

ARES is currently in its third and final phase. Lockheed Martin Skunk Works\u2122 is the lead vehicle design and system integration performer for Phase 3 of the program.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I’m still waiting for my vertical takeoff and landing car but meanwhile\u00a0DARPA\u00a0is aiming for medium-scale unmanned ducted fan VTOLs that can bring supplies and other services to places hard-to-reach by helicopters or other means: ARES Aims to Provide More Front-line Units with Mission-tailored VTOL Capabilities Unmanned aerial logistics system would bypass ground-based threats and enable … Continue reading Sci-Tech: DARPA ARES to develop unmanned VTOL vehicles for front-line supply services<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6444","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-science-and-technology"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p34aWK-1FW","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":6975,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=6975","url_meta":{"origin":6444,"position":0},"title":"Sci-Tech: DARPA selects 4 designs for Vertical Takeoff & Landing X-Planes","author":"TopSpacer","date":"March 19, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"DARPA has announced the winners of the first round of its\u00a0Vertical Takeoff and Landing Experimental Plane (VTOL X-Plane)\u00a0project: VTOL X-Plane Program Takes Off DARPA tasks four companies with designing new aircraft to revolutionize vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) flight capabilities \u00a0 For generations, new designs for vertical takeoff and landing\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Science and Technology"","block_context":{"text":"Science and Technology","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"Boeing VTOL X-Plane Concept_b_500x250","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/03\/Boeing-VTOL-X-Plane-Concept_b_500x250.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5824,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=5824","url_meta":{"origin":6444,"position":1},"title":"Sci-Tech: UrbanAero’s fancraft AirMule making test flights","author":"TopSpacer","date":"December 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Urban Aeronautics\u00a0in Israel has begun untethered unmanned flight tests of their vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL)\u00a0prototype\u00a0AirMule vehicle: \"AirMule Achieves Major Milestone on the Path to Full Mission Demonstrations\" The AirMule, an unmanned VTOL (Vertical Takeoff and Landing) aircraft developed by Tactical Robotics Ltd., a subsidiary of Urban Aeronautics, Ltd., has\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Science and Technology"","block_context":{"text":"Science and Technology","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.urbanaero.com\/userfiles\/images\/photo1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":854,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=854","url_meta":{"origin":6444,"position":2},"title":"Sci-Tech: DARPA seeking next-gen VTOL vehicles","author":"TopSpacer","date":"February 25, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"DARPA wants better vertical-takeoff, vertical-landing vehicles, particularly in these \"four areas: speed, hover efficiency, cruise efficiency and useful load capacity\". DARPA Experimental Aircraft Program to Develop the Next Generation of Vertical Flight Higher speeds, increased efficiency, elegant designs are the focus of new VTOL X-Plane One of the greatest challenges\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Science and Technology"","block_context":{"text":"Science and Technology","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4702,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=4702","url_meta":{"origin":6444,"position":3},"title":"Sci-Tech: Carter Aviation makes progress on high speed, long distance VTOL\/STOL aircraft","author":"TopSpacer","date":"September 28, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been following Carter Aviation Technologies for years as they developed their\u00a0Slowed-Rotor\/Compound (\"SR\/C\u2122\") Technology, which couples the speed, range and efficiency of an airplane with the vertical takeoff and landing (\"VTOL\") capability of a helicopter and is scalable in size from very small unmanned aerial vehicles (\"UAVs\") to large transport\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Science and Technology"","block_context":{"text":"Science and Technology","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/qh6ZCXBiRSQ\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14266,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=14266","url_meta":{"origin":6444,"position":4},"title":"Sci-Tech: Uber unveils electric VTOL flying taxi service to start in 2020","author":"TopSpacer","date":"April 25, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"And now Uber unveils its prototype electric vertical takoff and and landing (eVTOL) vehicle for a flying taxi service that it will begin testing in Dallas and Dubai in 2020. The vehicle is being developed in partnership with\u00a0Aurora Flight Sciences, Bell Helicopter, and Embraer. https:\/\/youtu.be\/BSFVvhQP7ws Announcements from the companies: Uber\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Science and Technology"","block_context":{"text":"Science and Technology","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/04\/Aurora_eVTOL_Aircraft_First_Flight1-1024x683.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":13501,"url":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?p=13501","url_meta":{"origin":6444,"position":5},"title":"Sci-Tech: Urban Aero Cormorant UAV completes first autonomous pattern flight","author":"TopSpacer","date":"November 13, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I recently posted an item about the\u00a0Urban Aero\u2018s Cormorant\/AirMule\u00a0vertical-take off and landing (VTOL) ducted fan autonomous vehicle. Here is a video just released of a test flight: Urban Aeronautics is pleased to announce that on November 3, 2016 its Cormorant Unmanned Air vehicle (UAV) prototype has performed its first autonomous\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Science and Technology"","block_context":{"text":"Science and Technology","link":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/?cat=9"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/PByFlMyAYpg\/0.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6444","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6444"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6444\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6447,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6444\/revisions\/6447"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hobbyspace.com\/Blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}