SPRINT contractors add details about their fast, runway-independent aircraft

A bit more than halfway to the final-design deadline in DARPA’s SPRINT vertical-takeoff program, the two contractors have revealed new details about their candidates.Aurora Flight Sciences is preparing an uncrewed demonstrator with a 45-ft wingspan and 1,000-pound payload, officials said in an October statement. The demonstrator will include an “off-the-shelf turbofan and turboshaft engines” to drive the aircraft to 450 knots, some 50 knots past the minimum requirement, the sta