Piasecki Aircraft's Air Reconfigurable Embedded System (ARES) tilt-duct VTOL aircraft completed its first flight. On September 6, at the Piasecki West helipad in Essington, Pennsylvania, the autonomous gyroplane made two tethered hover flights.
ARES began as a DARPA project to fill the void created by a chronic shortage of helicopters needed for military operations. This rotorcraft has become indispensable equipment for modern armed forces - especially for supporting small, dispersed combat units in the field, which may be located in rugged countryside far from decent landing sites.
To address this issue, DARPA began seeking a VTOL flight module concept in 2014 that could be remotely controlled, autonomously operated, or operated by a pilot in a cockpit module. It needs to be able to carry a variety of interchangeable payload modules and carry up to 3,000 pounds (kilograms) of cargo, which is 40% of the take-off weight. The advancement of the project required two inclined duct fans for high maneuverability.
The recent flight test, funded by the United States Army and Air Force under a $37 million contract, saw the ARES flight module make a controlled descent after hovering for one minute. A United States Army Mobile Multi-Mission Module (M4) was also installed in the test, and a second hover test was conducted to demonstrate how the flight module could be stabilized using a fly-by-wire system.
When mature, ARES will be able to perform a variety of tasks from small field bases or ships, including reconnaissance, medical evacuation, field resupply, etc.
"Originally a conceptual design project of the United States Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), ARES has matured through years of research and development, including design iterations, rigorous component testing, system-level validation, and more, to achieve this landmark achievement," said John Piasecki, CEO of Piaseki Aircraft Company. The ARES is another important milestone in Piasecki's 80-year history of innovative flying. I would like to thank our Air Force and Army customers, as well as our dedicated employees and partners, for their continued support as we move forward with the next phase of development." Following the successful expansion of the aircraft's flight envelope, we will be retrofitting to enable flight validation of fully autonomous CASEVAC (casualty evacuation) and logistical replenishment capabilities. "
The successful flight demonstration of the ARES Proof of Concept greatly reduced risk and accelerated the development timeline of the operational tilt catheter configuration series for multi-mission VTOL UAS and high-speed VTOL applications.