14 août 2019 | International, Aérospatial

What could a military do with this flying saucer?

By: Kelsey D. Atherton

This may be a flying saucer, but don't call it a UFO. Carefully named, the All DIrections Flying Object, or ADIFO, is instead a saucer-like contraption, a flying prototype built at exploring the aerodynamic potential of an alien craft. It is, at its core, an omnidirectional flying wing built around a quadcopter with jets attached. Its designers see a future for the airframe as an unmanned combat aerial vehicle.

In a video posted July 1, a narrator discusses the design process and aerodynamics of the craft. Like many VTOL tools built on a quadcopter frame, ducted fans provide initial lift and mobility at low altitudes and low speeds. The addition of vectored jets on the rear of the craft, combined with four vertical vents and four side-facing vents, promising greater maneuverability at high speeds.

The ADIFO is the invention of Romanian engineer Razan Sabie in conjunction with Iosif Taposu, a scientist with a long career in aerospace research for the Romanian government.

“The aerodynamics behind this aircraft is the result of more than two decades of work and is very well reasoned in hundreds of pages and confirmed by computer simulations and wind tunnel tests,” Sabie told Vice, in the pair's first American interview. That story explores both the specific nature of the ADIFO, and the long and mostly failed history of flying saucer design.

Like many other ideas for the first decades of aviation, the possibility of operating the craft without a human on board opens up greater potential in what an airframe can actually do. Human pilots are subject to the limitations of a body and perception, and a flying disk changing directions suddenly at high speed is not the ideal place for a human to be.

Uncrewed craft can take on novel forms, and execute turns and twists beyond those human limits. While maneuverability is likely the primary selling point for a future role as combat aircraft, the smooth and fin-free form could easily have stealth characteristics built in, and could be further adapted by a dedicated team to fully realizing that stealth flight.

What might a military planner or designer do with such a machine? The proof-of-concept offers little in the way of information about storage space or sensors. With wide enough lenses, a handful of cameras could match the circular symmetry of the vehicle and provide and omnidirectional surveillance presence. The high speeds and potentially low radar profile suggest a role akin to earlier, Cold War spy planes, taking specific pictures in contested space and returning before anti-air systems can act.

And as with any aircraft, the potential is likely there for it to release an explosive payload, taking the flying saucer from an extraterrestrial fear to a terrestrial threat.

ADIFO might not be the future of anything. The project's home page says the team is still attracting partners, and aviation history is littered with proofs-of-concept that failed to materialize in a meaningful way.

Yet there is something to the idea of a flying saucer working the moment it no longer has to transport a human. It is an old aviation frontier that likely warrants further exploration.

https://www.c4isrnet.com/unmanned/2019/08/12/what-might-a-military-want-with-a-romanian-flying-saucer/

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    26 septembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial

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This modification will extend the period of performance for continued advance planning efforts including material forecasting, long lead time material procurement, purchase order development, technical document and drawing development, scheduling, resource forecasting and planning, development of cost estimates for work to be accomplished, data acquisition, pre-overhaul tests and inspections, pre-overhaul preparations, refueling preparations and other technical studies as required to prepare and make ready for the CVN 74 RCOH accomplishment. Work is expected to complete by January 2021. This modification constitutes the award of an existing option for an additional six months of effort. The original contract and this modification will be accomplished by Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., Newport News, Virginia, under the authority of 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc. is the original building yard contractor for all ships of the CVN-68 class, the reactor plant planning yard, the lead design refueling yard and the only private shipyard capable of refueling and overhauling nuclear powered aircraft carriers. Therefore, it is the only source with the knowledge, experience and facilities required to accomplish this effort in support of the CVN 74 RCOH. Fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $187,126,853 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. The Boeing Co., Seattle, Washington, is awarded a $29,059,944 modification (P00172) to previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract N00019-14-C-0067 for the production and delivery of 10 P-8A A-kits, 10 turret deployment units and eight mechanism units in support of Lot 10 P-8A production aircraft. 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The site and building will be modified to meet anti-terrorism force protection requirements. Major building systems such as plumbing, heating, ventilation, and air condition, electrical and fire protection will be replaced with new systems. Work is expected to be complete by October 2022. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $26,929,000 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Three proposals were received for this task order. The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Mid-Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N40085-19-D-9089). L3 Adaptive Methods Inc., Centreville, Virginia, is awarded a $12,719,770 cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost contract for engineering services and capability development in support of the Undersea Warfare and Surface Warfare systems. 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Work will be performed in Puget Sound, Washington. The P-8A ECP 6 provides a significant modification to the baseline aircraft, installing new airframe racks, radomes, antennas, sensors and wiring, while incorporating a new combat system suite with an improved computer processing and security architecture capability at the higher than secret level, a wide band satellite communication system, an anti-submarine warfare signal intelligence capability, a minotaur track management system and additional communications and acoustics systems to enhance search, detection and targeting capabilities. Work is expected to be complete by May 2021. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,039,596 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. ARMY Stantec Consulting Services Inc., Lexington, Kentucky, was awarded a $45,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Dam Safety Modification Mandatory Center of Expertise, national dam and levee safety, and geotechnical services. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of May 5, 2025. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Huntington, West Virginia, is the contracting activity (W91237-20-D-0010). Thomas Instrument Inc.,* Brookshire, Texas, was awarded an $8,788,301 firm-fixed-price contract for maintenance and overhaul of UH-60 Blackhawk helicopters. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of May 6, 2025. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-20-F-0368). 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