Recently, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) announced an impressive plan to work with four companies to design an experimental next-generation vertical take-off and landing transport aircraft. The aircraft will be able to fly much faster than the V-22 Osprey, while being safer and more reliable. The proposal of this project comes at a time when the United States urgently needs to solve the problem of operating aircraft in areas lacking traditional runways. Considering the frequent accidents of the "Osprey" transport aircraft in recent times, the US military has even decided to stop production of the "Osprey" in 2026, so it has become very important to develop a new generation of replacement equipment. 
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency named the project Sprint and signed contracts with Aurora Flight Sciences, Bell Corporation, Northrop Grumman and Piaseki Aircraft in November. These companies will spend the rest of their time honing and refining their design ideas. The four deals cover the initial phase of the project and may be worth between $15 million and $20 million, depending on the actual needs and plans of each company. Preliminary plans are that in the spring of 2027, the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency hopes that one of the companies will be able to complete the design and prototype of the aircraft, as well as conduct the first flight tests. One of the key requirements at this stage is speed. As the Sprint aircraft flies forward, DARPA expects it to reach speeds of 400 to 450 knots, or 460 to 520 miles per hour. For comparison, the V-22 "Osprey" has a maximum speed of 270 knots. This speed requirement will allow the new aircraft to achieve a major breakthrough in terms of transport capacity. 
In addition to the high demands on speed, the Sprint aircraft needed to have vertical take-off and landing capabilities, as well as the ability to transition smoothly between hovering and forward flight. During the transition, it needs to have a distributed power system that provides effective power support for all propulsion systems. In addition, Higgins said that the Sprint project does not focus on the survivability or potential payload of these concepts in real-world applications. In achieving these goals, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) gives competing companies a great deal of freedom. This means that companies can decide for themselves whether the aircraft is manned, whether to use autonomous or semi-autonomous flight mode, and other key elements based on their needs and expertise. Bell, the designer of the V-22 Osprey, will participate in the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Sprint X-Plane program. The company has released a series of concept art that hints at its strategy when submitting a sprint project. In the Nov. 27 launch, Bell showed off an apparently unmanned aircraft with an Osprey-style tiltrotor design hovering over a platform at sea. 
Bell said its design submission for the Sprint will combine the hovering capability of *** with the speed, range and survivability of the jet. The company also plans to leverage the results of its previous work on high-speed vertical take-off and landing technology. Currently, Bell is conducting risk reduction testing of folding rotors, integrated propulsion and flight control technologies at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. At the same time, Aurora Flight Sciences, a subsidiary of Boeing, is actively involved in the project. The company says it is designing a high-lift, low-drag in-wing fan aircraft. The aircraft has a hybrid wing-body design with embedded engines for forward flight and an embedded lift fan connected to the engine for vertical flight. Concept art released by Aurora Flight Science shows the hybrid wingbody proposed by its aircraft, which is quite similar to the design of the Boeing X-48. In addition, the company said that its design was inspired by the Excalibur unmanned aircraft. This aircraft uses jet vertical lift and electric lift fans that retract the wings when flying forward. 
Currently, the Sprint contract awarded covers the initial six-month conceptual design phase. It is expected that by May 2024, the winner of the first stage of the bidding will be selected, while DARPA will eliminate at least one contender to move on to the next 12 to 15-month phase. At that time, these companies will complete the preliminary design and further screening. Project manager John Higgins said the potential uses for high-speed vertical lift aircraft are very wide-ranging. He added that the aircraft could be used for the operations of special operations forces, as well as for mobile and logistical operations, personnel search and rescue, medical transport and evacuation missions and other occasions that require rapid access to and from abnormal areas. In future wars, the military may need planes that can take off and land from streets, open fields, rough flight paths, or other places where there are no traditional runways, and be able to leave quickly. "This design really opens up the possibility for all of these tasks," Higgins said. ”
The implementation of this project will not only promote the progress of aviation technology, but also hope to provide the United States with a safer, faster and more flexible vertical take-off and landing transport aircraft. The potential for such aircraft on the battlefield of the future is huge, especially when performing mission-critical missions in complex environments and confined spaces. However, to achieve this, participating companies need to overcome numerous technical challenges and ensure that the aircraft meets the expected standards in terms of design and performance. As the project progresses, we will continue to monitor the development progress and future prospects of this experimental new generation VTOL transport aircraft.