VALKYRIE SYSTEMS AEROSPACE, INC — Department of Defense SBIR Phase I: AF203-CSO1

Description

Amid the challenges of COVID-19, the United States Air Force (USAF) remains committed to supporting the innovation ecosystem. During the week of 27 April, Dr. Will Roper, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, officially launched Agility Prime, an AF program to accelerate the growth of the transformative vertical flight market for subsequent government use. The objective of the event is to reinforce the AF’s commitment to partnering with industry, investors, and the interagency to help ensure there is a robust domestic capability in this new aerospace sector. Agility Prime is a nontraditional program conducted in partnership between Program Executive Office (PEO) for Mobility and Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) seeking to operationalize commercial vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) vehicles for military missions, and accelerate the emerging commercial VTOL market in the United States. The AF is seeking to establish a rapid contracting mechanism to explore and potentially field transformative vertical flight aircraft within three years, and the program will host a challenge series this year to select vehicles, certify safety and airworthiness, procure systems for the most promising missions, and reach operational capability by fiscal year 2023. Capitalizing on knowledge gained from the hybrid and electric automobile industry, powerful distributed propulsion systems are being woven together with advanced algorithms and modern airframes creating an entirely new class of aircraft. These aircraft create the potential for safe, affordable, sustainable, quiet, and runway-independent air mobility. Agility Prime, in an endeavor to create alternative defense acquisition constructs, reliant upon strong collaboration between the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s (AFLCMC) PEO Mobility, AFRL, AF Warfighting Integration Capability (AFWIC), and AF Ventures. AF Ventures will be the critical link for engagement with industry, investors, and interagency organizations.