Whisper Aero plays key role in innovative, unmanned military strike technology
A Crossville-based propulsion company is part of a newly awarded federal defense contract aimed at giving the U.S. military a new kind of unmanned strike capability.
The Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) has awarded Mach Industries a contract under its Runway Independent Maritime Expeditionary Strike (RIMES) program to build out an unmanned aircraft capable of launching from ships without large flight decks or from remote ground locations.
“We are determined to dramatically lower our cost-per kill, while reducing our risk to force, replacing warfighters with economical fires and robots,” explained DIU Director, Owen West.
Introducing Atlas
Mach Industries, a California-based defense manufacturer, will lead the development and manufacturing but has brought in Tennessee-based Whisper Aero as its propulsion partner.
Together, they are leveraging commercial technologies to design and deliver Atlas, a hybrid-electric platform designed to carry a 1,000-pound payload with a range of 1,400 nautical miles.
“Mach’s speed to prototype and production, coupled with Whisper Aero’s novel aerodynamics and propulsion makes Atlas a revolutionary air mobility platform. I am confident that this platform can redefine how the Joint Force projects power by delivering radical improvements in mission lethality, logistics footprint, acoustic signature, system safety, and energy efficiency,” said Nathan Diller, Mach’s President and Chief Strategy Officer (CSO).
Atlas will take off and land like a helicopter while flying with the efficiency and simplicity of a fixed-wing aircraft. And this ability is just what Whisper Aero’s founding team had in mind when they created their JetFoil™ propulsion technology.
“We developed JetFoil to propel the next generation of conventional, short, and vertical takeoff and landing aircraft silently and efficiently,” says Mark Moore, CEO of Whisper Aero. “With JetFoil, Atlas can effectively meet the needs of the RIMES mission to operate even from Destroyer class vessels.”
This is yet another reminder that when it comes to shaping the future, Tennessee is showing up in big ways.
Read the full release here.
Video courtesy: Mach Industries & Whisper Aero
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