Aurora to assist DARPA future aircraft design concept
Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences has been awarded a $7.11 million contract from DARPA for work on the Control of Revolutionary Aircraft with Novel Effectors (CRANE) programme.
Work will be completed by June 2021 at four locations in the US, the DoD announced on 19 June.
According to DARPA, the goal of CRANE 'is to design, build, and flight-test a new and novel aircraft that incorporates Active Flow Control (AFC) technologies as a primary design consideration'.
By optimising an aircraft for AFC with a ‘clean sheet’ approach, CRANE aims to mature and demonstrate new aerospace industry opportunities for aircraft design.
AFC could improve aircraft performance by removing jointed surfaces, which currently drive design configurations that increase weight and mechanical complexity.
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