DARPA/ONR Tactically Exploited Reconnaissance Node (TERN) UAS

[yasotay]

money and a new DARPA Director who had other priorities.

 

[Scott Kenny]

Wonder why nobody went back to the XF5U/V-173 "Flying Flapjack" design for this. While I don't think it could ever take off vertically, I'm pretty sure it could take off with ~30knots wind over the deck. Just time the takeoff for when the ship turns to put the wind about 30deg off the direction of motion. I know it could hang off the props for a vertical landing, or do a super STOL landing with maybe 50ft forward roll.

Single T700 or so class engine (~2500hp), Currie Industries 9" ring and pinion with 2.73:1 gear reduction to turn 6000rpm at the engine to 2200rpm at the drive shafts, H53 90deg tail rotor drive gearbox.

 

[robunos]

I know it could hang off the props for a vertical landing,

While this was indeed the aim, as far as I know, this was never demonstrated with the V-173, I assume due to lack of power, and of course, the XF5U prototype never flew . . .

cheers,
Robin.

 

[Scott Kenny]

While this was indeed the aim, as far as I know, this was never demonstrated with the V-173, I assume due to lack of power, and of course, the XF5U prototype never flew . . .

cheers,
Robin.

RC models did.

 

[raptor82]

From AVX homepage：

About - AVX Aircraft

ABOUT AVX AIRCRAFT AVX Aircraft Company was founded with a vision of bringing advanced vertical lift solutions to the civil market. This design technology has shown broad application to the military marketplace. Highly experienced engineers and professionals have created innovative designs, that...

avxaircraft.com

 

[yasotay]

I did not realize they had gotten that far with a prototype. To bad it did not get into the air.

 

[raptor82]

？TERN(mini) is back?

DARPA ANCILLARY：

https://twitter.com/x/status/1793390277865984270

View: https://x.com/lockheedmartin/status/1793390277865984270?s=46&t=5THFve96Abhx7VANdlTzrg

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

View: https://www.instagram.com/p/C7SQqmPvmvB/?igsh=MXRwMTVmMGdycjV3ag==

 

[Forest Green]

DARPA picks six firms to develop experimental ship-launched drones

ANCILLARY would take off vertically from a ship's flight deck and then shift to forward flight to conduct recon, move cargo, or track enemy targets at sea.

www.defensenews.com

 

[Scott Kenny]

DARPA picks six firms to develop experimental ship-launched drones

ANCILLARY would take off vertically from a ship's flight deck and then shift to forward flight to conduct recon, move cargo, or track enemy targets at sea.

www.defensenews.com

Still surprised that nobody has used the XF5U shape for the TERN drones...

 

[TomS]

From another discussion, Karem looks like it may be making progress on its ANCILLARY entry: There are FAA registrations for three aircraft under the designation TR-8 that could be their ANCILLAIARY design.

The entry for N362ZK says it has a 2-cycle engine. This aircraft clearly has turboprops.

The entry also says N362ZK is designated a TR-8. Based on the TR-36 and TR-53, Karem's naming convention for tiltrotors seems to be TR-[rotor diameter in feet]. If so, TR-8 is much smaller than this design.

ETA: Interestingly, there are three aircraft designated as Karem TR-8s, all registered on November 27, 2024. Serial 00001 is N362ZK, Serial 00002 is N102KA and Serial 00003 is N477DM. Do those codes suggest anything to anyone else?

https://registry.faa.gov/aircraftinquiry/Search/MMSResult?Statetxt=CA&Mmstxt=06102I9&Countrytxt=US

My hunch is that the Karem TR-8 is their entry in the DARPA Ancillary project:

DARPA Shows Concepts for the Future of VTOL Uncrewed Aerial Systems

www.darpa.mil

Karem Aircraft Design Advances in DARPA ANCILLARY Drone Program - IMA Network

Karem Aircraft, Inc. is advancing into the next phase of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s (DARPA) Tactical Technology Office’s AdvaNced airCraft Infrastructure-Less Launch And RecoverY (ANCILLARY) program. The program intends to develop a long-endurance, shipboard platform...

imanetwork.org