Page 19 - World Airnews Magazine April 2020 Edition

MANUFACTURER NEWS

BOEING REVEALS DARPA’S ACE WANTS TO

LONG-AWAITED FARA DESIGN AUTOMATE DOGFIGHTING

By Graham Warwick

combat between full-size fighters. trust in those local behaviours; and TA4

DARPA has argued that dog fighting is involves integrating those algorithms into
DARPA programme to build pilot less difficult to automate than it appears full-scale aircraft and conducting live flight

Atrust in arti fi cial intelligence (AI) because the solution space is bounded. experiments.

in combat by automating dog fighting has Instead the challenge is enabling the pilot DARPA plans to awards contracts to two

taken a step forward. to trust the AI. performers for TA3, scale-up, and one each

The first contract has been awarded and ACE will now develop methods of mod- for TA2 and TA4. The broad area announce-

the release of a solicitation to develop algo- elling and measuring trust, including cross ment for TA1, algorithm development and

rithms for close-in air combat has begun. check ratio - essentially how often the pilot demonstration, was released last month

Just as air combat training is used to de- grabs the stick to counteract the automa- with multiple awards planned.
velop pilot performance and trust, DARPA’s ti on. In a bid to mobilise the AI community

Air Combat Evolution (ACE) programme The first contract under ACE, worth (US) around the idea of automating within-vi-
aims to use dogfight automation as a cru- $10.6 million, has been awarded to Lock- sual-range combat, DARPA sponsored the

cible to give pilots confidence that AI ‘can heed Martin’s Skunk Works for Technical Alpha Dogfight Trials - a virtual competition
to demonstrate AI algorithms ahead of the
Area 3 of the programme. This involves

we believe will meet all the needs the army The configuration is reminiscent of handle a high-end fight’. scaling the algorithms from local combat TA1 development phase.
ACE will develop AI algorithms to auto-

is looking for,” Cherry said. Lockheed’s AH-56 Cheyenne, flown in 1967, mate within-visual-range combat and test autonomy to large force exercises. Eight teams from academia and industry

he last of the five competing teams This includes close consideration of both but smaller because the FARA is limited to them first in a modelling and simulation TA3 is one of four technical areas under were selected last year in October. The final

Tto unveil its design, Boeing has lifecycle and acquisition costs for the new a rotor diametre of less than 40 ft to enable environment, then in subscale unmanned ACE. TA1 involves developing algorithms event at the AFWERX innovation hub is due

revealed it is offering a thrust-compound- aircraft, Cherry added. it to fly between buildings in urban combat. aircraft and finally in live 1v1, 2v1 and 2v2 for local combat autonomy; TA2 is building to take place soon. Q

Boeing looked at the AH-56 for lessons
ed helicopter for the US army’s Future Boeing’s tandem-seat, single-engine de- learned, but the rotor is different, Open-

Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) sign has a hinge less single main rotor with shaw said.

programme. six blades for high solidity, a four-blade tail The rigid-rotor AH-56 experienced con-
The clean-sheet design is being pitched to rotor and a clutched four-blade propeller trol challenges, but it was not a fly-by-wire

win one of two contracts the Army expects on the tail for propulsion. Power comes helicopter, he notes. Boeing has experience Replay your flights in powerful 3D
to award at the end of March to build FARA from a single 3,000-shp General Electric of fly-by-wire from the RAH-66 Comanche

prototypes for a competitive fly off at the T901 and there is no wing. developed with Sikorsky and the Sikorsky/

end of fiscal 2023. All five competitors are offering different Boeing SB-1 Defiant high-speed helicopter Utilising AHRS data captured from Spider X, see your aircraft’s post-flight journey

FARA is intended to replace Boeing rotorcraft configurations for FARA. AVX is demonstrator now in flight testing. like never before, with powerful accuracy, and in stunning detail.

AH-64E Apaches now used in the armed proposing a coaxial compound helicopter The AH-64 has a four-blade, fully articu-

reconnaissance role- about half the army’s with side-by-wide seating, articulated lated rotor, but Boeing’s experience with

fleet - with the first unit scheduled to be rotors, wing and ducted fans. Bell is bidding hinge less rotors dates back to its YUH-61

equipped in 2028. a tandem-seat helicopter with articulated entrant in the utility-helicopter compe-

Boeing conducted trade studies looking main rotor, canted ducted tail rotor, wing tition that produced the Sikorsky UH-60

at all possible configurations for an armed and supplemental power unit. Black Hawk.

scout before selecting a thrust-compound- Karem Aircraft’s winged compound Flown in 1973, the YUH-61 had a com-

ed helicopter, said Shane Openshaw, FARA helicopter has side-by-side seating, an posite four-blade hinge less rotor based on

programme manager. actively controlled rigid rotor, tilting wing Boeing’s experience working with MBB on
“We did not go into this with our minds and swivelling tail-rotor/propulsor. Sikorsky the BO105 light helicopter.
made up,” he said, describing a “focused is proposing a coaxial rigid-rotor compound Despite the addition of a propeller, which

effort” over the past 18 months to define helicopter with tail propulsor and side-by- is driven via clutch mounted aft of the tail

an all-new aircraft that “meets or exceeds side seating. rotor gearbox, “we do not see this as an

all the army’s requirements,” including a Boeing has not partnered with any other overly complex design,” Cherry said. “The

maximum speed of at least 180 kt. vendors for its FARA offering and is instead army has set the industry tough problems
Boeing employed model-based systems taking a “One Boeing” approach, Cherry said. with its mandatory requirements and

engineering for its FARA offering similar “Our other suppliers and other partners desirements. Every configuration has its

to the method the company used to win are still something that we will build later, pluses and its drawbacks.”
the air force’s T-X programme and navy’s but at this point consider it a Boeing-led Boeing Phantom Works is leading the
carrier-based aerial refuelling system effort development,” he said. FARA bid, working with the company’s

- the company’s T-7 and MQ-25, respec- Boeing’s high-solidity hinge less rotor AvioniX and Aurora Flight Sciences divisions

tively - said Mark Cherry, vice president provides agility and manoeuvrability on the prototype.

and general manager of Phantom Works at without the high flapping of a fully articu- “We are not inventing new technologies,”

Boeing. lated rotor, Openshaw said. The tail rotor Openshaw said. “We are integrating and

“We’re doing that combination of listen- provides manoeuvrability at low speed and improving on mature technologies to meet Contact Pieter Cronje today to find out more.
ing to our customer, understanding our the propeller provides manoeuvrability at the challenges of delivering with the risk, +27 66 203 6205 | pieter.cronje@spidertracks.com

own capability, and putting that together high speed. Weapons are carried internally schedule and cost [the Army wants]. This is
into a purpose-built clean sheet design that to minimise drag. the right way to go.” Q
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