DARPA selects Aurora Flight Sciences for Phase 1B of SPRINT programme

Aurora Flight Sciences' proposal for DARPA's SPRINT contest. (Aurora Flight Sciences)

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has selected Aurora Flight Sciences to move into the next phase of the Speed and Runway Independent Technologies (SPRINT) programme, the company announced on 20 May, with a USD25 million contract modification.

The SPRINT programme is intended to result in an experimental vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) craft capable of reaching jet-like speeds.

SPRINT's Phase 1B is meant to advance designs from conceptual design review through preliminary design review, in which designers detail the component parts and specifications needed for the design.

DARPA selected four companies for Phase 1A of the programme in November 2023: Aurora Flight Sciences, Bell Helicopters, Northrop Grumman, and Piasecki Aircraft Corporation. The agency declined to specify whether additional competitors besides Aurora Flight Sciences were selected for Phase 1B.

SPRINT seeks designs capable of lifting off vertically from unprepared surfaces and cruising between 400 and 450 kt at up to 30,000 ft altitude with a 5,000 lb payload, according to the programme's initial solicitation. The programme was tendered in co-operation with US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM).

Aurora Flight Sciences' design is a blended wing-body with embedded fans-in-wing, capable of redirecting forward thrust vertically. A conceptual image released with the 20 May announcement shows a small craft with three such fans and external doors that open to allow them air in VTOL mode.