Advanced Technology Survivability Demonstrator

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At the end of this article it refers to a new DARPA program for Northrop Grumman it is a two year 5.7 million contract for the Advanced Technology Survivability Demonstrator. Is this the Air Forces new Strike Bomber Program?

DARPA Kills Oblique Flying Wing

Oct 1, 2008
By Graham Warwick graham_warwick@aviationweek.com


Northrop Grumman's Oblique Flying Wing (OFW) program will not proceed to an X-plane flight demonstrator. The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency confirms that OFW has concluded following the preliminary design effort.

The OFW was a tailless variable-geometry flying wing designed to combine long subsonic loiter endurance with high supersonic dash speed. By increasing sweep as the aircraft accelerated, the leading edge always remained within the shock cone, reducing drag.

DARPA says the first phase built up an aerodynamic database from more than 1,000 subsonic and supersonic test runs using a dual-sting wind tunnel model to allow variable-sweep testing with force and moment balances in each of the stings, which hold up models in tunnel testing.

The proposed unmanned subscale X-plane demonstrator was to use trailing-edge and inlaid surfaces for flight control, and two afterburning J85 engines mounted in swiveling pods under the wing.

Northrop Grumman, meanwhile, has received a two-year, $5.7 million DARPA contract for the Advanced Technology Survivability Demonstrator. The research agency say it cannot provide any details on the program.

Artist's concept: DARPA
 
http://www.dacis.com/dacisnewswire/details.lasso?ID=279584&-session=IBP_MainSite:D149FE7716b5013E95jGI443AD2A


DARPA Contracts With Northrop Grumman for Advanced Technology Survivability Demonstrator Prototypes
Published: 9/30/2008

The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) (Arlington, VA) awarded Northrop Grumman Integrated Systems (IS) (El Segundo, CA) a two-year, $5.7 million other transaction for prototypes contract (HR0011-08-9-0007) for the Advanced Technology Survivability Demonstrator.

Work will be performed in El Segundo, CA, (82 percent), Wichita, Kansas, (11 percent), Walled Lake, MI, (8 percent), and is ...

/end of unsubscribed users linr/
 
oh, the full text...

Northrop Grumman Corp., El Segundo, Calif., is being awarded a $5,715,000 other transaction for prototypes agreement for the Advanced Technology Survivability Demonstrator. Work will be performed in El Segundo, Calif., (82 percent), Wichita, Kansas, (11 percent), Walled Lake, Mich., (8 percent), and is expected to be completed in Aug. 2010. Funds being obligated at time of award ($145,000) will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This is a sole source award. The contracting activity is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Va., (HR0011-08-9-0007).
Click to expand...

http://www.defenselink.mil/contracts/contract.aspx?contractid=3872
 
In regards to the oblique wing, it'll probably just end up falling into the same fate as FSW - just too hard to justify.

As for the ATSD - well that's a rather cryptic description if I ever saw one. Next-gen bomber demonstrator/prototype? (makes sense given Northrop)
 
what pics, no one even knows what the hell it is! =)
in original source, it was DARPA/NG OFW picture
 
One interesting thing about the Advanced Technology Survivability Demonstrator is the work split:

El Segundo, Calif., (82 percent), Wichita, Kansas, (11 percent), Walled Lake, Mich., (8 percent).

Walled Lake is engine maker Williams International, but Wichita? Beech? Cessna? Learjet? And, as someone not a million miles from LowObservable pointed out, no Mojave, Calif. (in other words Scaled Composites, now Northrop's rapid-prototyping shop).
 
It may just be a question of security access level for division staff, as well as where it's...I think that 1624, Flight Line a little bit more unsecure place for a program DARPA didn't want to say a word of so far. Just my guess, as always.
 
Looks like this money is for the ISR aircraft an intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance air vehicle UAV. With Scaled Composites doing the prototype work.
CammNut said:
One interesting thing about the Advanced Technology Survivability Demonstrator is the work split:

El Segundo, Calif., (82 percent), Wichita, Kansas, (11 percent), Walled Lake, Mich., (8 percent).

Walled Lake is engine maker Williams International, but Wichita? Beech? Cessna? Learjet? And, as someone not a million miles from LowObservable pointed out, no Mojave, Calif. (in other words Scaled Composites, now Northrop's rapid-prototyping shop).
Click to expand...
 

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