Ultra LEAP
The Ultra Long Endurance Aircraft Platform (Ultra LEAP) consists of a high-performance, cost-effective, sport-class commercial airframe converted to a fully automated system with autonomous takeoff and landing capabilities. The Air Force Research Laboratory’s Center for Rapid Innovation (CRI) has successfully completed initial flight tests for the revolutionary Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) with a customizable suite of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) tools that supports extended missions. This series of flight tests began in Feb. 2019 at Dugway Proving Ground, Utah, culminating with a two and a half-day continuous flight demonstration from Dec. 9 to Dec 11. Subsequent flight tests will demonstrate increased levels of flight endurance. (Courtesy artwork/Air Force Research Laboratory)