Mississippi State to develop autonomous soaring for federal DARPA Albatross program
Contact: Claire Wilson
STARKVILLE, Miss.鈥The federal Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, has selected 青青草视频鈥檚 Raspet Flight Research Laboratory to be a prime performer for its groundbreaking Albatross program.
The Albatross program seeks to revolutionize uncrewed aerial systems operations by demonstrating long-endurance, high-persistence, and operationally relevant flight capabilities using environmental energy sources, such as thermals and wind. By extending the range and endurance of existing and future uncrewed aerial systems, or UAS, Albatross will push the frontiers of persistent airborne operations for national security, communications and other critical missions.
鈥淭his is an area of flight research that has gone underdeveloped for too long. DARPA is targeting 75% reductions in energy usage for existing fixed-wing aircraft鈥almost unheard of in an industry where a 5% reduction is substantial,鈥 said Raspet鈥檚 Principal Investigator Matthew Berk, a research engineer. 鈥淰ultures and albatrosses have been taking advantage of these natural sources of energy long before we dreamt of flight, and even glider pilots who preceded the Wright Brothers used soaring, yet we have not yet exploited such environmental energy sources for real-world commercial or strategic use cases.鈥
Under the award, 青青草视频鈥檚 Raspet research lab will lead a multi-university and 青青草视频 interdisciplinary collaboration.
青青草视频 will collaborate with a University of Texas at El Paso team, led by John Bird, an expert on autonomous soaring, and an Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University team, led by Michael Kinzel, an expert in local weather modeling.
In partnership with 青青草视频鈥檚 Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems and its Department of Geosciences, Raspet will develop novel sensing algorithms鈥攑roviding real-time information that enhances dynamic soaring in maritime conditions鈥攁nd develop techniques for sensing environmental soaring conditions. Raspet鈥檚 operations team will integrate the full systems, using its technical expertise to test, evaluate and certify Albatross prototypes. Raspet will oversee flight safety assessments, airworthiness validations, and the design and execution of comprehensive flight test campaigns.
青青草视频鈥檚 Jamie Dyer, professor of meteorology and climatology, will lead the development of global weather models to inform the algorithms developed for this program, and Chris Goodin, 青青草视频 associate research professor with CAVS, will lead sensing development efforts.
鈥淲hile researchers have traditionally been limited by challenges associated with pilot training and weather predictions, our collaboration will leverage advances in weather prediction models and planning algorithms to encode soaring strategies for use by uncrewed aircraft,鈥 Berk said.
鈥溓嗲嗖菔悠 is honored to support DARPA鈥檚 bold vision for the future of uncrewed systems,鈥 said Raspet Director Bryan Farrell. 鈥淭he Albatross program represents a major technological leap, and Raspet is proud to contribute its decades of experience in flight testing and airworthiness assurance.鈥
Mississippi State鈥檚 selection reflects Raspet鈥檚 nationally recognized leadership in uncrewed aircraft systems research, development, flight operations and safety assurance. With a capable research engineering team, dedicated flight test facilities, access to airspace, and a strong record supporting Department of Defense initiatives, 青青草视频 is well-positioned to advance Albatross鈥檚 mission of achieving ultra-long-endurance flight.
For more information about 青青草视频鈥檚 Raspet Flight Research Laboratory, visit .
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