Karem Aircraft, Inc. is advancing into the next phase of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s (DARPA) Tactical Technology Office’s AdvaNced airCraft Infrastructure-Less Launch And RecoverY (ANCILLARY) program. The program intends to develop a long-endurance, shipboard platform supporting ISR and logistics missions at an affordable but capable scale.
The Karem Bluebird is a contrarotating, coaxial Optimum Speed Tilt Rotor (OSTR) aircraft. With a high wing and inverted V-tail, the carbon composite airframe houses a 40 hp heavy-fuel propulsion system. Excellent maneuverability required for shipboard operation is achieved using the rigid rotors’ powerful control capacity. Bluebird incorporates Near Earth Autonomy’s state-of-the-art autonomy system providing operator-free takeoff and landing from Naval shipping and austere sites. Optimized for loiter endurance at extended ranges, Bluebird meets or exceeds DARPA ANCILLARY program objectives that enable affordable next generation unmanned capabilities for our warfighters.
Bluebird is an outstanding example of the range and endurance benefits and wide applicability of Karem’s proven OSTR technology. In the same way that tiltrotors brought high-speed to VTOL, OSTR adds extreme efficiency along with other benefits such as added safety, lower acoustic signature, and environmental friendliness. OSTR is a suite of technologies centered around variable RPM rotors enabled by light, stiff, and rigid rotor blades and hubs. As an integrated design, OSTR scales across a very broad range of size points and delivers over two times the efficiency of conventional VTOL, including current tiltrotors.
In addition to the ANCILLARY program, Karem Aircraft continues to test a full-scale OSTR aircraft nacelle with a 36 ft diameter rotor under its Single Rotor Tie-down (SRT) Test Program initiated as part of the United States Army’s Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstration (JMR-TD) Program. The testing to date substantiates the potential of OSTR to provide the extreme gains in efficiency and other benefits. The fundamental operation of the components is confirmed, and the integrated systems in the full aircraft nacelle are working together.
Recent design efforts toward specific applications show the promise of exceptional performance against key metrics including utility, range, endurance, and fuel burn. Specific design points, the TR36 (OSTR aircraft with 36 ft diameter rotors) and the TR29, show application to both commercial markets and military mission sets, including the maritime environment.
About Karem Aircraft: Karem Aircraft, Inc. is a small, dynamic aerospace company with engineering and development expertise spanning all aspects of aircraft and component design and manufacturing. Karem’s engineers are equipped with a world-class design and analysis toolset, and its facilities are commensurate with the development of small to medium size aircraft with conformance to manned aircraft standards, including production of certifiable parts and assemblies. Karem Aircraft was founded by Abe Karem, who has created and flown 14 original aircraft designs, including the DARPA Amber UAV program, leading to the General Atomics Predator family of aircraft, and the record-setting DARPA A160 Hummingbird program.