US: SkyTote Demonstrates High-Speed Flight and Vertical Takeoff

Air Force Research Laboratory scientists are working on a novel unmanned air vehicle called SkyTote that will take off and land vertically like a helicopter, but also transition into horizontal flight like a conventional aircraft.

SkyTote's primary mission is to deliver a payload to a specific point within a tactically relevant range and time. It is a Small Business Innovative Research Phase II effort orchestrated by AeroVironment Inc of Monrovia, Calif., for AFRL's Air Vehicles Directorate.
According to AFRL's Tom Cord, SkyTote program manager, the aircraft is a concept demonstrator and not a working system.

"We are not trying to reach a certain performance and capability; we are trying to show that a hovering UAV with a fast, forward speed is a likelihood. It's something we can do in a simple way," he said.

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