Boeing Shows-Off Phantom Swift UAV For DARPA VTOL Competition

Boeing has developed a flying subscale model of the innovative Phantom Swift in time to be part of Boeing's proposal for DARPA's vertical takeoff and landing X-Plane competition, the company announced Friday.

The scaled model of the Phantom Swift went from being an idea to a flying prototype in less than a month. It will serve the team as a flying laboratory, according to a Boeing statement.  

“A picture is worth a thousand words, a flying model is worth a million words. No matter what words you put in a proposal, having hardware that you can demonstrate that they can tangibly see what’s being proposed goes a long way toward winning that proposal,” said Perry Ziegenbein, Phantom Swift’s chief engineer. 

The DARPA vertical takeoff and landing aircraft X-Plane program will have three phases. Phase I will last 22 months, with several competitor designs partially funded by DARPA. Only one consolidated Phase II/Phase III contract for fabrication and flight demonstration contract will be awarded, with a goal for a first vertical takeoff and landing X-Plane flight within 47 months. 

The first phase of DARPA’s X-Plane program is expected to begin in the next few months.