Tue, Mar 05, 2024
Rapid Prototyping Bolsters Ordnance Development
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) successfully demonstrated an ordnance drop using its Advanced Air-Launched Effects (A2LE) platform, releasing it from the internal arms bay of an MQ-20 Avenger.
The test took place over Utah's Dugway Proving Ground, putting the A2LE design to the test with a realistic in-flight release. The launch releasing an A2LE capped off a series of tests all at once, validating elements from the development process affecting manufacturing, structural, and flight engineering. For the Air-Launched design, GA-ASI made the most of their newfangled Divergent Adaptive Production System (DAPS). Despite the acronym, it's best seen as a higher-end, sufficiently advanced version of the kind of processes 3D printing aficionados enjoy at home. Just like them, the DAPS allowed GA-ASI to rapidly produce a cheap, robust demo vehicle to gauge the future success of immature concepts. The test essentially validates that system too, showing that good ideas can be brought to fruition without the permissions and investments needed to develop traditional prototypes.
“This demonstration was a crucial first step in demonstrating GA-ASI’s ability to rapidly develop, manufacture, and test a Small Unmanned Aircraft System (SUAS) in a controlled, low-risk approach,” said Mike Atwood, vice president of Advanced Programs at GA-ASI. “A2LE demonstrates the coupling of GA-ASI’s pedigreed aircraft design capabilities with Divergent’s DAPS, paving the way for continued maturation of affordable, modular SUAS platforms that can be tailored to meet warfighter needs at a fraction of the cost and lead time of currently fielded systems.”
More News
Mid-Continent Instruments and Avionics and True Blue Power Have 50 Amps For You At NBAA 2024 Booth #2331 True Blue Power Unveils 50 Amp-hour Lithium-ion, Main Ship Battery New Gen5>[...]
Tactical Air Navigation (TACAN) An ultra-high frequency electronic rho-theta air navigation aid which provides suitably equipped aircraft a continuous indication of bearing and dis>[...]
"In August we wrote a bipartisan letter supporting more @SpaceX launches at Vandenberg, citing benefits to national security, broadband connectivity, and wildfire response. Yet the>[...]
“A core principle of Inversion is maintaining an open, transparent relationship with regulators. From day one, Ray was designed to meet or exceed all regulatory requirements,>[...]
Also: More Supply Chain Scrutiny, 3rd Annual DPE Symposium, Microsoft Flight Sim, Air Canada Pilots Ratify It was one of the most stunning sites in all of aerospace... the capture >[...]