American Dynamics AD-150
High-speed VTOL tilting ducted fan UAV for US Marine Corps programs.
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The American Dynamics AD-150 is a high-speed VTOL tilting ducted fan unmanned aerial vehicle developed as a future competitor for the United States Marine Corps' Tier III VUAS program and other current and future United States VTOL UAV programs. It is notable for its use of two wing-tip mounted High Torque Aerial Lift (HTAL) systems driven by a single Pratt & Whitney Canada PW200 turboshaft engine.
Background
The AD-150 program began in response to continued interest in maritime capable VTOL UAVs by the United States Department of Defense. The vehicle's propulsion configuration is similar to the Doak VZ-4 in that the two propulsion systems can tilt from vertical to horizontal mode to achieve high-speed forward flight. Unlike the Doak VZ-4, however, the AD-150's propulsion systems are also able to pivot longitudinally.
A full-scale model of the AD-150 was displayed for the first time at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International's (AUVSI) Unmanned Systems North America exhibition in Washington, D.C., on August 7, 2007. In February 2010, the University of Maryland's Industrial Partnerships program approved $135,150 in funding to test a scale model of the company's patented High Torque Aerial Lift (HTAL) system in a tunnel at the university. The testing utilized a 1/3–1/2 scale model tested at different fan and tunnel speeds and duct angles to represent the transition between vertical and horizontal flight.
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Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: American Dynamics AD-150 (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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