ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. – U.S. Army researchers have designed an unmanned aircraft that can transform mid-flight, making it able to fly at high speed or hover in place at a target destination. The Daily Mail reports. Continue reading original article
The Military & Aerospace Electronics take:
6 July 2020 -- The drone was a joint effort from the US Army Research Laboratory and engineers Texas A&M, who presented their research at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Aviation Forum and Exposition.
The drone transforms by either bending its wings upward or fully extending them depending on whether the mission requires it to fly at high speed or hover in place, or the types of maneuvers it needs to execute.
For high speed segments, which require travel to and from a target, the wings will fold inward to allow for faster and more efficient travel, while 'loiter' phases of a mission will see the wings fully extended for increased stability.
Related: Aurora Flight Sciences to develop high-speed DARPA VTOL X-Plane
Related: GoldenEye UAV makes first autonomous transition flights
John Keller, chief editor
Military & Aerospace Electronics