Piasecki Aircraft’s Aerial Reconfigurable Embedded System (ARES), a tilt-duct Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft, has successfully completed its maiden flight. The autonomous rotorcraft made two tethered hover flights on September 6 at Piasecki’s West Helipad in Essington, Pennsylvania.
Originally designed as part of a DARPA project, ARES was developed to address the growing shortage of helicopters available for military operations. Helicopters have become crucial for modern armed forces, especially when supporting small distributed combat units in remote or rugged areas far from suitable landing sites. ARES aims to fill this gap by offering a versatile and adaptable VTOL aircraft capable of fulfilling various mission requirements.
The project began in 2014, with DARPA seeking innovative VTOL flight concepts that could be controlled remotely, operated autonomously, or piloted manually. A key feature of ARES is its ability to carry interchangeable payload modules, with a maximum payload capacity of up to 3,000 pounds, which is 40% of the aircraft’s takeoff weight. Propulsion for ARES relies on two tilting ducted fans, designed for increased maneuverability and precision.
The recent tests, funded by the US Army and Air Force under a US$37-million contract, demonstrated ARES’ ability to hover and maintain stability. During the first flight test, the ARES Flight Module hovered for one minute before descending in a controlled manner. In a second test, a US Army Mobile Multiple Mission Module (M4) was attached to the aircraft, and another hover test was conducted. These tests were designed to show how ARES’ fly-by-wire system, a smaller version of systems used in larger aircraft, could ensure stability during flight.
Once fully developed, ARES will be capable of operating from small field bases or ships, enabling it to perform a range of missions such as reconnaissance, medical evacuation, and field resupply. The modular nature of the aircraft makes it adaptable to various mission requirements, potentially enhancing its value in diverse military operations.
John Piasecki, CEO of Piasecki Aircraft, emphasized the importance of this milestone in the development of ARES. He said, “Since its origins as a DARPA conceptual design project, Piasecki has led ARES through years of research and development – design iterations, rigorous component testing, system level validation, and more – to mature the technology leading up to today’s landmark achievement.” Piasecki also highlighted that the successful test flights pave the way for future developments, stating that the company plans to implement modifications for demonstrating fully autonomous casualty evacuation (CASEVAC) and logistics resupply capabilities.
With the successful maiden flight, the ARES proof-of-concept demonstrator has significantly reduced development risks and accelerated the timeline for creating a family of operational tilt-duct configurations. These configurations are expected to serve multi-mission VTOL unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and high-speed VTOL applications, marking a promising step forward for the project.
Source: Piasecki Aircraft
