RapidFlight has secured a contract worth up to $10 million from the U.S. Department of the Air Force’s AFWERX Autonomy Prime program to develop the SPX, a customizable autonomous fixed-wing aircraft system. This partnership aims to accelerate the integration of autonomous technologies into Air Force programs, with RapidFlight providing design, development, testing, and training over a 36-month period, highlighting their innovative AgileAviation process to reduce development time and costs.
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RapidFlight, a designer and manufacturer of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), has been awarded a contract valued up to $10 million by the United States Department of the Air Force (DAF) AFWERX Autonomy Prime program to develop and produce the SPX – a customizable autonomous fixed-wing aircraft system.
The DAF created AFWERX to partner with small businesses and start-ups to tackle challenges. The Autonomy Prime program focuses on the collaborative development of autonomous technologies with industry to accelerate the transition into Air Force programs of record.
“Our collaboration with the AFWERX Autonomy Prime Program positions RapidFlight as a leading innovator for delivering mission-customized, autonomous aircraft with up to 80% reduced design-to-manufacture time and platform costs” said Mike Uffelman, director of growth and customer programs at RapidFlight. “This contract will enable the DAF to explore RapidFlight’s digital engineering process and its modern development approach to produce customizable aircraft with novel technologies critical for national security.”
“Autonomy Prime is excited about this innovative approach to unmanned autonomous aviation,” said Lt Col Josh Fehd, AFWERX Autonomy Prime branch chief. “It represents a promising opportunity to continue our mission of creating a rapid, affordable, and iterative autonomy testing and transition capability for the DAF.”
For the first phase of the 36-month contract, RapidFlight will design SPX UAVs for developmental test and evaluation at the Autonomy Prime Proving Ground, a facility designed for testing and development of autonomous UAS technologies. It will then conduct a contractor-owned and operated demonstration of the SPX to the United States Air Force at a flight test facility in Manassas. Throughout the contract, RapidFlight will also provide comprehensive operations and maintenance training for SPX to Air Force operators. The SPX is a Group 2 UAS which features a 12 lb. payload capacity and 150 nm range, along with a modular payload bay to accommodate various payload types, sensors, and autonomy packages. To facilitate research and development, developers will use the RapidFlight Common Avionics 2.0 modular interface, which is capable of supporting developmental payloads and enabling autonomous flight developers to generate real-world flight test data rapidly.
Meanwhile, the company’s proprietary AgileAviation process will reduce the development lifecycle within the first phase of UAV development, the completion of which includes aircraft delivery and flight crew training, scheduled to be completed in seven months. Each SPX system comprises four airframes, a ground control station, a field kit, and a compact launcher.