Wright-Patterson R&D programs honored with Laureate Awards

  • Published
Two Air Force Research Laboratory advanced research and development programs were honored in Washington March 8 with Aviation Week Laureate Awards.

The Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System and X-51A Waverider hypersonic flight test vehicle teams were recognized "for their exploration, innovation and vision" in the aerospace and defense industry. The X-51A garnered the Laureate in the "Aeronautics/Propulsion" category while Auto GCAS took the award for "IT/Electronics."

Program managers Donald Swihart from AFRL's Air Vehicles Directorate and Edward Griffin with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company accepted honors for the Automatic Collision Avoidance Technologies Fighter Risk Reduction Program team for its development of Auto GCAS. The system is designed to predict and avoid ground collisions if pilots become disoriented or unconscious. Other team members include the Defense Safety Oversight Council of the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Personnel & Readiness), NASA-Dryden Flight Research Center, and Air Force Flight Test Center.

Auto GCAS, is a lifesaving technology to predict impending ground collisions and execute avoidance maneuvers without the need for pilot input. The result is a system that automatically prevents controlled flight into terrain, the leading cause of all fighter aircraft mishaps, while insuring a nuisance-free operation to the pilot. The team successfully developed and flight tested Auto GCAS across the entire F-16 envelope, demonstrating its readiness for transition to operational fighter aircraft systems, and supported its transition to the F-16, F-22 and F-35.

In its Laureate announcement Aviation Week said the Auto GCAS system is projected to save hundreds of lives and billions of dollars in saved aircraft over the next 25 years of operation.

The Waverider is an unmanned, autonomous supersonic combustion ramjet-powered hypersonic flight test demonstrator. It was designed to pave the way to future hypersonic weapons, hypersonic intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and future access to space.

The X-51A made history on its maiden flight test, when its fuel-cooled scramjet engine accelerated the Waverider to approximately Mach 5 or 3,400 miles per hour, marking the longest-duration flight test of a scramjet. The May 26, 2010 flight is considered the first use of a practical hydrocarbon fueled scramjet in flight.

The X-51A program is a collaborative effort of AFRL and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, with industry partners Boeing and Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne. Aviation Week honored X-51A program managers Charlie Brink, with AFRL's Propulsion Directorate, George Thum from Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne and Joseph Vogel, Boeing Phantom Works for developing "an unmanned, hypersonic vehicle with a scramjet engine capable of controlled flight for a substantial amount of time and distance."

Related award nominations

Both the X-51A Waverider and Auto GCAS Automatic Collision Avoidance System Fighter Risk Reduction Program teams are also among the nominees for the prestigious Robert J. Collier Trophy.

The National Aeronautics Association awards the Collier Trophy annually "for the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America."

Other programs nominated for the Collier trophy which have ties to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base include the MC-12W intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance system and Boeing's C-17 Globemaster III airlifter.

The Collier trophy winner is slated to be announced March 15.