Breaking news
Lockheed Martin showcasing its Aerial Reconfigurable Embedded System (ARES) at AUSA 2014.
| 2014
| a | |||||
 |
|||||
AUSA
2014 Association of the United States Army AUSA Annual Meeting & Exposition 13 to 15 October 2014 Washington D.C., United States |
|||||
Lockheed Martin at AUSA 2014 |
|||||
| Wednesday, October 15, 2014 02:03 PM | |||||
| Lockheed Martin showcasing its Aerial Reconfigurable Embedded System (ARES) at AUSA 2014 | |||||
At AUSA 2014
(Association of United States Army) Annual Meeting currently taking place
in Washington D.C., Lockheed Martin is showcasing the Aerial Reconfigurable
Embedded System (ARES). It is a next generation of compact, high-speed
vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) delivery systems. |
|||||
The ARES model on Lockheed Martin stand in “flight”
configuration |
|||||
To
help overcome these challenges, DARPA unveiled the Transformer (TX) program
in 2009. Transformer aimed to develop and demonstrate a prototype system
that could provide flexible, terrain-independent transportation for logistics,
personnel transport and tactical support missions for small ground units.
In 2013, DARPA selected the Aerial Reconfigurable Embedded System (ARES)
design concept to move forward. Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works® is leading a team with Piasecki Aircraft to develop the next generation of compact, high-speed vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) delivery systems under the ARES program. ARES VTOL flight module is designed to operate as an unmanned platform capable of transporting a variety of payloads. The flight module has its own power system, fuel, digital flight controls and remote command-and-control interfaces. Twin tilting ducted fans would provide efficient hovering and landing capabilities in a compact configuration, with rapid conversion to high-speed cruise flight. |
|||||
The ARES model
on Lockheed Martin stand seen here with retracted wings and with the payload
next to it |
|||||
It
is envisioned that the flight module would travel between its home base
and field operations to deliver and retrieve several different types of
detachable mission modules, each designed for a specific purpose. Example modules include: Cargo resupply, casualty evacuation (CASEVAC), and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR). Army Recognition learned during AUSA that ARES first flight is expected for September 2015 and that the system is fitted with triple redundant flight controls. |
|||||