Aurora Flight Sciences, a Boeing company, has confirmed its high-speed vertical takeoff and landing (HSVTOL) concept has completed stability and control wind tunnel testing.
Aurora announced on April 29, 2025, that the 20% scale model completed the wind tunnel testing in March 2025, at a Boeing facility near Philidelphia.
The company said that the test was a “key milestone in the preliminary design phase” of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Speed and Runway Independent Technologies (SPRINT) program.
The SPRINT program aims to design, build, and fly an X-plane to demonstrate key technologies that enable a “transformational combination of aircraft speed and runway independence”.
Aurora’s concept uses embedded lift fan technology and a blended wing body design to provide the scalable capability to cruise at around 518 mph (834 km/h) and takeoff and land vertically on unprepared surfaces.
The wind tunnel test was designed to collect data to understand the low-speed handling of the concept’s unique profile, particularly at the critical transition from vertical to forward flight.
“This SPRINT wind tunnel test has validated our analytical estimates of the performance of the aircraft. With this successful risk reduction testing completed, the program is ready to proceed into detailed design,” said Larry Wirsing, Vice President of Aircraft Development at Aurora.
The new data will be used to validate computer models, feed the program’s flight simulator database and inform full-scale vehicle design.
“Aurora and Boeing have assembled a world class team of experts in advanced vertical lift technologies, and we are looking forward to the opportunity to continue working with the Government team to finish the design, build, and flight test of this aircraft that will demonstrate game-changing capabilities in speed, agility, and cargo capacity,” added Wirsing.
