Supersonic UAV concept to aid in USAF pilot training
NewsOctober 18, 2021
SAN JOSE, Calif. Low boom supersonic transport company Exosonic, Inc. has announced a Direct to Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract award from the U.S. Air Force (USAF). The contract will fund the development of a low boom supersonic uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) demonstrator.
Awarded by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s AFWERX, the contract is in partnership with Air Combat Command and the Air Force Research Laboratory, and the Presidential and Executive Airlift Directorate.
This vehicle will aim to demonstrate technologies directly relevant to Exosonic’s quiet supersonic airliner and build a short-term path to revenue. The company plans to reinvest the profits from UAV sales to fund future supersonic product developments, such as the airliner.
According to the ccompany, this supersonic UAV will aim to help the pilot training mission by acting as a near-peer adversary fighter to challenge fighter pilots in live flight training. Equipped with various payloads and sensors, training can be conducted more affordably than existing live air training solutions.
