Mississippi State to develop autonomous soaring for federal DARPA Albatross program
Contact: Claire Wilson
STARKVILLE, Miss.—The federal Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, has selected ݮƵ’s Raspet Flight Research Laboratory to be a prime performer for its groundbreaking Albatross program.
The Albatross program seeks to revolutionize uncrewed aerial systems operations by demonstrating long-endurance, high-persistence, and operationally relevant flight capabilities using environmental energy sources, such as thermals and wind. By extending the range and endurance of existing and future uncrewed aerial systems, or UAS, Albatross will push the frontiers of persistent airborne operations for national security, communications and other critical missions.
“This is an area of flight research that has gone underdeveloped for too long. DARPA is targeting 75% reductions in energy usage for existing fixed-wing aircraft—almost unheard of in an industry where a 5% reduction is substantial,” said Raspet’s Principal Investigator Matthew Berk, a research engineer. “Vultures and albatrosses have been taking advantage of these natural sources of energy long before we dreamt of flight, and even glider pilots who preceded the Wright Brothers used soaring, yet we have not yet exploited such environmental energy sources for real-world commercial or strategic use cases.”
Under the award, MSU’s Raspet research lab will lead a multi-university and ݮƵinterdisciplinary collaboration.
ݮƵwill collaborate with a University of Texas at El Paso team, led by John Bird, an expert on autonomous soaring, and an Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University team, led by Michael Kinzel, an expert in local weather modeling.
In partnership with MSU’s Center for Advanced Vehicular Systems and its Department of Geosciences, Raspet will develop novel sensing algorithms—providing real-time information that enhances dynamic soaring in maritime conditions—and develop techniques for sensing environmental soaring conditions. Raspet’s operations team will integrate the full systems, using its technical expertise to test, evaluate and certify Albatross prototypes. Raspet will oversee flight safety assessments, airworthiness validations, and the design and execution of comprehensive flight test campaigns.
MSU’s Jamie Dyer, professor of meteorology and climatology, will lead the development of global weather models to inform the algorithms developed for this program, and Chris Goodin, ݮƵassociate research professor with CAVS, will lead sensing development efforts.
“While researchers have traditionally been limited by challenges associated with pilot training and weather predictions, our collaboration will leverage advances in weather prediction models and planning algorithms to encode soaring strategies for use by uncrewed aircraft,” Berk said.
“ݮƵ is honored to support DARPA’s bold vision for the future of uncrewed systems,” said Raspet Director Bryan Farrell. “The Albatross program represents a major technological leap, and Raspet is proud to contribute its decades of experience in flight testing and airworthiness assurance.”
Mississippi State’s selection reflects Raspet’s nationally recognized leadership in uncrewed aircraft systems research, development, flight operations and safety assurance. With a capable research engineering team, dedicated flight test facilities, access to airspace, and a strong record supporting Department of Defense initiatives, ݮƵis well-positioned to advance Albatross’s mission of achieving ultra-long-endurance flight.
For more information about ݮƵ’s Raspet Flight Research Laboratory, visit .
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