ARES Operational Vehicle Study

This Phase I SBIR will study modular ducted fans using the Aerial Reconfigurable Embedded System (ARES) Demonstration Vehicle (DV).  The ARES concept will be adapted for Air Force needs and researched for cost and operational comparisons to existing logistics operations.  This study will evaluate time, cost, throughput and design criteria for the ARES concept for Transformational Air Mobility, ARES-AM.  This effort will also advance the Flight Controls of the ARES DV following the recent ground test activity.  These updates are based on lessons learned during testing and the updates will prepare the ARES DV for hover flight testing. The technical out products of the proposed effort are the development of high-fidelity models of the ARES-AM and supporting logistics aircraft.  These models and input data support the assessment of cargo output using different mission scenarios to allow accurate timelines and throughput to be judged.  The ARES-AM baseline design shall be evaluated for interfacing with current Air Force logistics modes as well as the basic transport interfaces.  Test results from the ARES DV testing shall be analyzed as validation of system readiness.