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IMMEDIATE
RELEASE
August 26, 2005
CONTRACTORS
FOR WALRUS PROGRAM ANNOUNCED
The
Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has awarded funding to
two contractors for the first phase of the Walrus program.
DARPA's Walrus program will develop and
evaluate a very large airlift vehicle concept designed to control lift in
all stages of air or ground operations including the ability to off-load
payload without taking on-board ballast other than surrounding air. In
distinct contrast to earlier generation airships, the Walrus aircraft will
be a heavier-than-air vehicle and will generate lift through a combination
of aerodynamics, thrust vectoring and gas buoyancy generation and
management.
The two contractors receiving Walrus
phase I awards are:
·
Lockheed Martin Corp.,
Advanced Development Programs, Palmdale, Calif., $2,989,779
·
Aeros Aeronautical Systems
Corp., Tarzana,
Calif., $3,267,000
The Walrus program will develop an operational vehicle concept design and
required breakthrough technologies and will conduct risk reduction
demonstrations of these new technologies. Demonstrations will include
flight tests of a Walrus Advanced Technology
Demonstration (ATD) scaled aircraft. A key goal of the Walrus program is
to establish clear and credible solutions that provide confidence that
earlier airship-era limitations will be overcome. In particular, an early
focus of the program will be the investigation of advanced breakthrough
technologies that will support the development of innovative lift and
buoyancy concepts that do not rely on off-board ballast.
The Walrus operational vehicle (OV) is envisioned to have the primary
operational task of deploying composite loads of personnel and equipment
(for example, the components of an Army Unit of Action) ready to fight
within six hours after disembarking the aircraft. Walrus will operate
without significant infrastructure and from unimproved landing sites,
including rough ground having nominal five-foot-high obstacles. It is
intended to carry a payload of more than 500 tons 12,000 nautical miles in
less than seven days at a competitive cost. Additionally, Walrus will be
capable of performing theater lift and supporting sea-basing and
persistence missions to meet a range of multi-Service needs.
During the program's first phase, a
12-month analytical effort, the two contractor teams will conduct trade
studies to determine which OV design concept most satisfies the
operational tasks and optimizes design capability. Phase I will explore
various vehicle configurations (rigid, non-rigid and semi-rigid), and will
conclude with a concept design review of the OV and the supporting
technology development plan for risk reduction demonstrations including
the ATD vehicle.
DARPA will select one contractor team to
enter the second phase, which will be a demonstration effort spanning
three years. During phase II, the program will refine the OV design needs,
identify the OV's potential military utility through modeling and studies,
develop breakthrough technologies, and conduct risk reduction
demonstrations of components and subsystems, including flight
demonstration of the ATD vehicle. The risk reduction demonstrations,
including the ATD vehicle, will establish a low-risk technology path for
proving the Walrus concept and achieving the operating goals.
-END-
Media with questions, please contact Jan
Walker, (703) 696-2404, or jan.walker[at]darpa.mil.
Contractors or military organizations,
contact Mr. Phil Hunt at (571) 218-4447.
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