Aurora progresses on job to build large seaplane with complex controls and ability to fly combat vehicles
ARLINGTON, Va. – Aircraft designers at Aurora Flight Sciences Corp. in Manassas, Va., are moving forward with a U.S. military research project to design a futuristic seaplane able to operate in rough seas for weeks at a time, and carry payloads as heavy as 45 tons for distances between 4,000 and 6,500 miles.
Officials of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va., announced a $25 million order to Aurora last week to extend the company's current Liberty Lifter work to phase 1C.
Heavy-lift plane
Liberty Lifter will be a heavy-lift, long-range seaplane that operates efficiently at very low altitudes in ground effect. Aurora and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. in Poway, Calif., had been working on Liberty Lifter, but General Atomics was eliminated from the program last May.
Liberty Lifter aims to demonstrate a leap-ahead in operational capability by designing, building, floating, and flying a long-range, low-cost X-Plane capable of seaborne strategic and tactical heavy lift. The program is in phase 1C in which Aurora will progress the technical maturity of the aircraft configuration, structure, and systems.
The phase 1C work also will start procurement of long-lead components and accelerate manufacturing development to ease the company's transition into the program's second phase. The program is scheduling a preliminary design review for next fall, and first flight is scheduled for 2029.
For the Liberty Lifter project, the Aurora is focusing on designing a seaplane with extended maritime operations in high sea states that is affordable to produce, and involves complex controls for flight and for operating on the ocean's surface.
Full-scale demonstrator
Aurora is working with Gibbs & Cox, a Leidos company in Arlington, Va., and ReconCraft in Clackamas, Ore., to develop designs for the Liberty Lifter Seaplane Wing-in-Ground Effect full-scale demonstrator. The team is working on a design that resembles a traditional flying boat, with a single hull, high wing, and eight turboprop engines.
The Liberty Lifter long-range seaplane will provide smooth operations in ground effect and in waves that are four to eight feet high. Ground effect describes the added aerodynamic buoyancy produced by a cushion of air below an aircraft moving closely to the ground or surface of the water.
The program aims at smooth flight with high lift at low speeds to reduce wave impact loads during takeoff and landing. The seaplane is expected to accommodate wave impact loads and be able to operate in high-traffic areas, and operate at sea for weeks at a time with long periods between land-based maintenance.
DARPA researchers are emphasizing low cost, easy-to-fabricate designs, with Liberty Ship-style manufacturing. The seaplane also should have complex aero and hydrodynamic interactions during takeoff and landing, with advanced sensors and controls to avoid rogue wave impacts.
The Liberty Lifter seaplane should be able to fly at altitudes from ground effect to 10,000 feet, and operate for four to six weeks at a time.
Carry two combat vehicles
On-water amphibious payload deployment and retrieval should be via nose and tail ramps; the seaplane should be able to carry at least two U.S. Marine Corps Amphibious Combat Vehicles, and cargo in 20-foot container units.
Aurora will use high-performance computing and multi-disciplinary analysis and optimization tools to model and analyze complex aerodynamic and hydrodynamic interactions; focus on affordable design and manufacturing approaches; use novel manufacturing approaches; and use industry best practices from commercial high-speed vessels.
The program consists of a three-phase developmental cycle with each phase building on the previous phase. On this order Aurora Flight Sciences will do the work in Manassas and Arlington, Va.; Auburn Hills, Mich.; Fairhope, Ala.; Wilmington, Del.; and Indianapolis, and should be finished by October 2025.
For more information contact Aurora Flight Sciences online at www.aurora.aero, General Atomics Aeronautical Systems at www.ga-asi.com, or DARPA at www.darpa.mil/program/liberty-lifter.
John Keller | Editor-in-Chief
John Keller is the Editor-in-Chief, Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine--provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronics and optoelectronic technologies in military, space and commercial aviation applications. John has been a member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since 1989 and chief editor since 1995.
