Aurora Flight Sciences has completed the conceptual design review for a high-speed, vertical-takeoff-and-landing (HSVTOL) aircraft it is developing for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).
The Boeing subsidiary received fresh funding from DARPA to proceed with the next phase of development—the preliminary design review, which it expects to complete in approximately 12 months. If all goes smoothly, the aircraft could achieve its first flight in mid-2027, according to Aurora.
In November 2023, DARPA's Speed and Runway Independent Technologies (Sprint) program awarded Phase 1A contracts to Aurora and three competitors—Northrop Grumman, Bell Textron, and Piasecki—to fund the conceptual design of a VTOL aircraft with a cruise speed of 400 to 450 knots.
So far Aurora is the only company to receive a Phase 1B contract to fund a preliminary design review. On April 30, DARPA awarded Aurora a nearly $25 million contract modification for Phase 1B, raising the total value of Aurora’s contract to about $29 million.
Following the additional award, Aurora released updated renderings of its HSVTOL design. The aircraft features a fan-in-wing configuration, with three vertical lift propellers integrated into a blended-wing-body airframe.
“The choice of three lift fans reflects the team’s strategy to simplify the demonstrator and streamline its path to flight test,” Aurora officials said in a written statement. “The [fan-in-wing] technology could be scaled to four or more lift fans to meet future aircraft requirements, and it could unlock opportunities for a future family of systems.”
While the X-plane demonstrator is designed to fly without a pilot on board, the technology “would be fully transferable to traditional aircraft with crews,” according to Aurora.