Aerospace Group:

Advanced / Transformational Technology

DARPA’s ARES Unmanned VTOL Prototype Nears Flight Testing

Defense Daily Staff

Friday, May 1st, 2015

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DARPA’s ARES Unmanned VTOL Prototype Nears Flight Testing

An artist's rendering of the unmanned ARES aircraft carrying a cargo container. (Lockheed Martin photo)

The Aerial Reconfigurable Embedded System (ARES), an unmanned, vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) prototype touted for its compact design and interchangeable payload, is on track to begin flight testing in the fourth quarter of this year, according to an industry official.ARES, which is under development for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), is being built and undergoing ground tests, including drivetrain tests, at Piasecki Aircraft in Essington, Pa., near Philadelphia, said Doug Welch, an ARES official for Lockheed Martin [LMT], the program’s…

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