DARPA moves ahead with utra endurance aircraft

 The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Vulture program ultimately will build an unmanned aircraft capable of carrying a 1,000-pound payload on five kilowatts of power and can stay airborne for an uninterrupted period of at least five years while remaining in the required mission airspace 99% of the time.

DARPA this week picked Aurora Flight Sciences, Boeing ($3.8 million) and Lockheed Martin as contractors for the first phase of the Vulture program. Aurora on Wednesday will detail its submission known as Odysseus, a solar-powered modular aircraft with a 492ft wingspan. Aurora said Odysseus will be made up of three separate flying modules that will link up in the air. The sections can undock and be replaced when they are spent.

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