Team GoldenEye Selected for Phase II of DARPA OAV-II Program
7/13/2005

Team GoldenEye Selected for Phase II of DARPA OAV-II Program

MANASSAS, Va., July 13 -- Team GoldenEye announced today that it has been selected by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to continue into phase two of the Organic Air Vehicle - II (OAV-II) competition. Team GoldenEye, an industry team led by Aurora Flight Sciences and including General Dynamics Robotic Systems and Northrop Grumman, will develop a Class-II unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) prototype for the Army's Future Combat Systems (FCS). A cornerstone of Team GoldenEye's OAV-II effort is the GoldenEye-50, an 18-pound ducted fan UAV and the technology point of departure for Team GoldenEye's OAV-II offering.

"When Team GoldenEye was named to OAV-II phase one, we had an outstanding technical concept," said Aurora President Dr. John S. Langford. "Our aggressive flight test program over the past several months has validated the GoldenEye concept, and we are now focused on the further design, development, and risk reduction capabilities that will help win Phase III of the OAV-II program."

During the spring, Aurora Flight Sciences pursued a flight test program designed to expand the GoldenEye-50's flight envelope. In April, the aircraft made its first transition from hover flight to horizontal, wing-borne flight. The ability to transition to high-speed, wing-borne flight gives the GoldenEye-50 greater range, better fuel efficiency and increased survivability when compared to simple VTOL aircraft.

During May and June of this year, the GoldenEye-50 completed a highly successful series of demonstrations for Army personnel at Ft. Knox, Ky. and Ft. Benning, Ga. The deployments to Ft. Benning and Ft. Knox were the first public demonstrations of VTOL UAVs for the Army and included transition flights, identification of targets on the ground and operations in high winds. The demonstrations confirmed the capabilities of Team GoldenEye's offering.

Other members of Team GoldenEye include: General Dynamics Robotic Systems, Athena Technologies, Northrop Grumman Corporation, UAV Engines Ltd., and Signal Systems Corporation.