AeroVironment (AV) has been down-selected by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) for the continued development of its X-Plane design under the Advanced airCraft Infrastructure-Less Launch And RecoverY (ANCILLARY) program. AV’s innovative offering, Wildcat, is a Group 3 vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) drone engineered for ship-based operations in challenging maritime environments.
“We have prioritized controllability to ensure Wildcat meets the ‘anytime, anywhere’ goal of DARPA’s ANCILLARY program,” said Chris Fisher, AV’s Vice President of MacCready Works. “Wildcat leans on autonomy to reduce operational burdens while enabling safe, infrastructure-less launch and recovery in challenging conditions from a range of Navy ships.”
Wildcat utilizes AV’s SPOTR-Edge machine learning-enabled computer vision to enhance mission effectiveness. This capability builds on AV’s extensive experience in the Group 1 to 3 UAS space, with millions of operational flight hours on systems like Raven®, Puma™ AE, and JUMP® 20.
The ANCILLARY program aims to develop a low-weight, large-payload, long-endurance VTOL UAS for U.S. Navy and Marine missions. Wildcat advances beyond current Group 3 UAS capabilities, addressing and overcoming evolving threat landscapes.
Designed for the ANCILLARY program, Wildcat meets DARPA’s objectives with a 450 nautical mile mission radius, over 12 hours of endurance on station, and a payload capacity of 60 lbs. It exceeds program objectives for sea state recovery and cruise speed, operating effectively in high sea states and winds, and can dash over 100 knots to cover long distances swiftly.
Wildcat’s large modular payload capacity enhances mission responsiveness and flexibility, while its tail-sitter design requires minimal infrastructure and footprint. It is designed to operate within a fleet of Wildcat UAS, leveraging collision-avoidance and autonomy to deconflict airspace and collaborate on search missions in degraded or denied airspace.
“Our solutions are specifically crafted for the operator, and Wildcat is no exception. AV has a strong history of seamlessly integrating our systems into daily operations. We look forward to further developing this design in partnership with DARPA and the Office of Naval Research for the ANCILLARY program,” added Fisher.
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