Air Force Selects Aurora for MaTeR programme
Aurora Flight Sciences was recently selected by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) for the Manufacturing Technologies for Remotely Piloted Vehicles (MaTeR) programme. Over the next eighty-four months, Aurora will develop and improve manufacturing processes for all aspects of Remotely Piloted Vehicles/Aircraft (RPVs/RPA), which includes both the airborne and ground components.
Aurora's initial work will focus on affordable airframe production technology and manufacturing technology for propulsion systems. Aurora's team includes Textron, Rolls Royce North America, Goodrich Corporation, Honeywell Aerospace, Williams International, and United Technologies Corporation.
"Innovative manufacturing technologies currently under development in laboratories today will revolutionize the remotely piloted aircraft of tomorrow," stated Javier deLuis, who leads Aurora's Research and Development Center. "By applying these technologies to current and future military programmes, we will significantly lower the cost of developing future vehicles as well as the cost of sustaining our current fleet. As the cost, complexity, and development time of new platforms threatens to eclipse our capability to support them, we must focus on technological innovation that will drive affordability."
The goal of the MaTeR programme is to demonstrate the key manufacturing technologies in the areas of electronics, power and propulsion, advanced structures, and modeling and simulation that will significantly impact affordability, development schedules, and operational availability of Air Force RPA.
Source: Aurora Flight Sciences
More from Uncrewed Vehicles
-
![Cummings Aerospace showcases Hellhound loitering munition designed for US Army’s LASSO programme (video)]()
Cummings Aerospace showcases Hellhound loitering munition designed for US Army’s LASSO programme (video)
Cummings Aerospace presented its turbojet-powered Hellhound loitering munition at SOF Week 2025, offering a man-portable solution aligned with the US Army’s LASSO requirements.
-
![SOF Week 2025: PDW unveils attritable FPV drone for SOF operations at scale]()
SOF Week 2025: PDW unveils attritable FPV drone for SOF operations at scale
PDW has revealed its Attritable Multirotor First Person View drone at SOF Week 2025, offering special operations forces a low-cost, rapidly deployable platform for strike and ISR missions, inspired by battlefield lessons from Ukraine.
-
![SOF Week 2025: Teledyne FLIR white paper provides guidance on reusable loitering munitions]()
SOF Week 2025: Teledyne FLIR white paper provides guidance on reusable loitering munitions
Teledyne FLIR is highlighting the emerging requirements for 'recoverable and re-usable' loitering munitions across the contemporary operating environment during this week’s SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida.
-
![SOF Week 2025: Kraken Technology group debuts K3 Scout USV in North America]()
SOF Week 2025: Kraken Technology group debuts K3 Scout USV in North America
High-performance maritime industry player Kraken Technology Group, based in the UK, has used the SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida this week to debut its K3 Scout uncrewed surface vessel (USV) to the North American market.
-
![Palladyne AI and Red Cat to demonstrate capabilities for autonomous drone swarms to the US military]()
Palladyne AI and Red Cat to demonstrate capabilities for autonomous drone swarms to the US military
Red Cat and Palladyne AI recently conducted a cross-platform collaborative flight involving three diverse heterogeneous drones.
-
![Jammer resistant drone designs spark search for countermeasures]()
Jammer resistant drone designs spark search for countermeasures
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has driven another stage of evolution for drones and the counter measures to defend against them.
