Wildcat drone completes forward flight transitions for DARPA
NewsJune 27, 2025
ARLINGTON, Virginia. AeroVironment’s Wildcat uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) has completed a series of flight milestones under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Early VTOL Aircraft Demonstration (EVADE), part of the AdvaNced airCraft Infrastructure-Less Launch And RecoverY (ANCILLARY) program, the company announced in a statement.
Wildcat is a Group 3 vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) tail-sitter designed for launch and recovery from ship decks in contested maritime environments. The system recently achieved successful VTOL-to-forward-flight transitions and validated its core propulsion and flight control systems, the statement reads.
The aircraft incorporates technologies including a Visual Precision Landing System, modular autopilot, and AI compute module, according to the company. AeroVironment reports that testing confirmed aerodynamic performance across a range of speeds and flight profiles, including hover and level flight with a heavy-fuel propulsion system.
Wildcat is being developed by MacCready Works, AeroVironment’s advanced development team. The company states that it is now integrating mission payloads to support intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), communications, and other tactical functions, with future tests planned to simulate maritime operations.
