An experimental unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) funded by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and designed with a common chassis to be affordable and rapidly replicated has taken its first flight.
The General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc.’s (GA-ASI) XQ-67A Off-Board Sensing Station (OBSS) made its maiden flight last week from Gray Butte Field Airport near Palmdale, California, where it completed several tests.
“OBSS is the first aircraft type built and flown using a common core chassis developed by GA-ASI that promotes commonality across multiple vehicle types,” said Michael Atwood, GA-ASI vice president of advanced programs.
The platform is the second generation of AFRL’s XQ-58A Valkyrie initiative, deploying a foundational core architecture, or “genus” approach, on which other aircraft variants, or “species,” may be rapidly replicated.
“This approach will help save time and money by leveraging standard substructures and subsystems, similar to how the automotive industry builds a product line,” Doug Meador, autonomous collaborative platform capability lead with AFRL’s Aerospace Systems Directorate, said in a statement. “From there, the genus can be built upon for other aircraft—similar to that of a vehicle frame—with the possibility of adding different aircraft kits to the frame, such as an Off-Board Sensing Station or Off-Board Weapon Station, [or OBWS].”
It’s an approach that opens the door for faster development, lower costs, and more opportunities to refresh technology, according to Trenton White, OBSS program manager and aerospace engineer with AFRL’s Aerospace Systems Directorate.
“XQ-67A is the first ‘species’ to be designed and built from this shared platform,” White said. “Flight demonstration of this system is a major first step toward showing the ability to produce affordable combat mass.”
