Aurora Flight Sciences said it recently made multiple unmanned flights with its Centaur optionally piloted aircraft from Griffiss International Airport in Rome, N.Y., one of six sites the FAA selected in December 2013 to test unmanned aircraft systems (UAS). The flights were the first involving a large fixed-wing aircraft at the FAA-designated sites.
The Centaur, which is based on the Diamond Aircraft DA42 twin-engine airplane, performed unmanned flights from Griffiss from June 12 to 15, Aurora said. The test site at the airport is managed by the Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance (NUAIR), a coalition of public and private entities from New York and Massachusetts. The FAA authorized the site to begin operations last August.
Aurora, based in Manassas, Va., promotes the Centaur as an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance platform. The aircraft has a 27,500-foot service ceiling and 24-hour endurance with a 200-pound payload.
“This aircraft is coming into high demand from a range of customers, both military and commercial interests, in the U.S. and abroad,” said John Langford, Aurora chairman and CEO. “The flights conducted at the Griffiss site enable our company to offer these customers an aircraft that has been at the leading edge of efforts to integrate unmanned aircraft into the U.S. national airspace.”