AIR FORCE NEWS
Air Force in Pursuit of High Speed Aircraft (Updated)
Digital rendering of the JetPack Aviation HSVTOL Speeder
JetPack Aviation illustration
A new challenge sponsored by the Air Force’s innovation incubator, AFWERX, aims to help the service and Special Operations Command find and develop a high speed aircraft.
The High-Speed Vertical Take-Off and Landing, or HSVTOL, Concept Challenge imagines an aircraft that can take off from any location and operate at speeds comparable to much larger platforms.
The aircraft will need to maximize speed, range, survivability, payload, size and flexibility. The Air Force could use it for various applications.
It has the potential to revolutionize special ops, personnel recovery, aeromedical evacuation and tactical mobility, according to AFWERX.
California-based JetPack Aviation is one of 35 winners of the challenge, said CEO David Mayman. The company’s offering, the VTOL Speeder, can approach speeds approaching 300 mph when operated in unmanned mode, Mayman said.
The platform is designed like a flying bike, which can be operated manually, remotely or fully remotely-controlled with no rider to reach top speeds.
Because of its envisioned speed and lift capabilities, the HSVTOL will be able to deliver cargo in environments where a slower-moving helicopter could be a target for enemy defenses, he noted.
“It could be used for very rapid delivery of lifesaving cargo … [where] a helicopter is too slow and has crew on board and you’re risking the life of the people,” he said.
The Speeder’s autonomous capabilities enable flight in any weather conditions and its compact size allows for take off from a location as small as a parking space. Multiple Speeders could be deployed as a drone swarm, Mayman added.
The Air Force and SOCOM “are seeking groundbreaking ideas that will further strengthen operational effectiveness and efficiency in contested, resource-constrained, and runway-independent settings,” Reid Melville, chief innovation officer at the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Transformational Capabilities Office, said in a statement.
The military has been working on the concept for fast VTOL for years. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency invested in a vertical takeoff and landing experimental aircraft program, known as the X-Plane, in 2016.
Correction: A previous version of this article referred to the high speed vertical take off and launch aircraft as a hovercraft.
Topics: Air Force News
Comments (4)
Perfect form to launch head first in a crash
Michael Bol at 5:04 PMThat is not a hovercraft — its an aircraft! A hovercraft is a vehicle that floats on top of the water or ground on a cushion of air. HSVTOL is looking to develop high speed vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) aircraft — capable of hovering — but a hovering aircraft is not a hovercraft!
Mike Hirschberg at 4:14 PMJust don’t go racing through redwood forests!
Paul of Alexandria at 8:45 PM
AFWERX, Your Missing the opportunity one again, what are you doing too ''CLOAK'' yourselves ''INVISIBLE'' while Moving at High Speeds and what are you doing too ''DEFLECT'' Munitions from penetrating your ''Hovercraft-exo-structure''
Andy Martakis at 11:04 PM