Aurora Wins Overall Most Innovative Product in Suppliers’ Innovation Challenge

MANASSAS, VA– Aurora Flight Sciences is proud to announce that it has won the Aviation Week & Space Technology and Defense Technology International Suppliers’ Innovation Challenge for designing and building Boeing’s Phantom Eye wing. Aurora won the top honor as the “Overall Most Innovative Product” among eighty entries and also was selected as the winner of the “Less than $80 Million” company size category.

“We are honored,” said Dan Brady, Aerostructures Vice President for Aurora. “This award showcases Aurora’s capabilities as a supplier of composite airframe solutions that includes both engineering and rapid prototyping. We pride ourselves on the on-time delivery of outstanding products and services to our customers.” Aurora’s excellence in innovation and production have been recognized by Sikorsky Aircraft Corporation as one of their top 100 suppliers and by Northrop Grumman Corporation as a Platinum Source Supplier.

The Phantom Eye wing was designed, manufactured and tested for Boeing Defense, Space & Security. The 150 foot wing was built in three sections using Out Of Autoclave (OOA) composite materials. The wing’s unique and highly efficient airfoil was developed by Aurora to alleviate the aeroelasticity challenges associated with designing a low weight high stiffness structure that contributes to Phantom Eye’s extraordinary long endurance.

A highly cooperative design and management framework between Aurora and Boeing was instrumental in the program’s success. It utilized a building block approach that included coupon level, sub-component, and full-scale testing to 100% design limit load test to validate the design and analysis methodology.

The completed wing was designed and manufactured at 12% below the allocated system weight and successfully met all programmatic cost and schedule requirements.