In January, the US Air Force selected 11 companies to proceed with the conceptual development of a high-speed vertical takeoff and landing (HSVTOL) aircraft. Initiated in the spring of 2021 as the High-Speed VTOL Challenge, the effort is a collaboration between AFWERX, the Air Force's innovation hub, and US Special Operations Command (SOCOM). The HSVTOL program seeks to develop an aircraft that could eventually replace the Air Force's CV-22 Osprey, one that can fly on the order of 400 kt (740 km/h) and conduct a range of missions such as personnel infiltration, tactical mobility and aeromedical evacuation. The initial call for ideas resulted in 218 proposals, which AFWERX narrowed to a preliminary 35 solutions in August 2021 (see "Air Force Challenges Industry for High-Speed VTOL," Vertiflite, Sept/ Oct 2021). Of these, AFWERX has now selected 11 for investment in Phase 1 of the program. Competitors in the program have praised AFWERX's approach to soliciting a broad base of ideas and encouraging collaboration. "By connecting a well-educated and focused team inside of AFWERX with the private sector, they're trying to meet the goal of moving fast," Jason O'Neill, COO of Astro Aerospace, said in a conversation with Vertiflite. Jeff Nissen, senior manager for advanced technology and HSVTOL program manager at Bell, agreed, telling Vertiflite that the AFWERX Challenge was "a really good way of driving competition through this process."
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