Aurora Flight Sciences Research & Development Center

At Aurora Flight Sciences, a Boeing Company, we are passionate about advancing the future of flight. Our mission is to deliver innovations across aircraft configurations, autonomous systems, propulsion technologies, and manufacturing processes to meet the toughest challenges our customers face. With a history spanning over 30 years, we have established a reputation for delivering exceptional solutions with high standards of safety and quality. Our team of experts is committed to making a difference in the world by changing how we use the sky.

What We Do

Aurora delivers innovative solutions across a range of areas, including:

Advanced and Uncrewed Aircraft: We design, build, and fly cutting-edge aircraft and enabling technologies, spanning from experimental to small uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS). Our expertise includes Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR), future mobility, electric propulsion, and more.

Aerosystems Manufacturing: We work closely with our customers to bring their vision to life. Our experts apply advanced composites, modular sizing, and robotic manufacturing to build aerospace components, sub-assemblies, and complete airframes from prototype to production.

Research & Technology: Our team of experts develops novel aircraft configurations and enabling technologies to improve the safety and sustainability of flight. We specialize in rapid prototyping and focus areas such as autonomy, electric propulsion, and human-machine integration.

Flight Operations & Testing: Our incremental, safety-first approach ensures the efficient testing of cutting-edge aircraft, technologies, and components using simulated and live flight testing. Our processes and equipment accelerate the design-test cycle, delivering fast feedback to engineering teams.

Autonomy: We help customers improve the safety and efficiency of flight operations by expanding capabilities in human-machine teaming, machine learning, and autonomous decision-making.

Experimental Aircraft: Our customers rely on us to design, build, and test X- and Y-planes, pushing the boundaries of revolutionary capabilities, new technologies, and new methods of operation.

Small Unmanned Aerial System (sUAS): Our SKIRON-X is a Group 2 sUAS that combines the simplicity of an electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) configuration with the longer range and endurance of a fixed-wing design.

Locations

Aurora has five locations globally:

• Manassas, Virginia: Our headquarters is located at the Manassas Regional Airport, housing engineering development and build spaces, test labs, remote flight operations centers, and offices.
• Cambridge, Massachusetts: Our aerospace and autonomy center and lab is located near the MIT campus and features innovative office space and a multi-functional lab space.
• Columbus, Mississippi: This site is home to over 120,000 square feet of advanced manufacturing space, featuring cutting-edge technologies such as automated fiber placement.
• Bridgeport, West Virginia: Our advanced manufacturing site houses some of the most advanced technology in robotic manufacturing.
• Lucerne, Switzerland: Our Swiss base hosts engineers specializing in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), particularly in lightweight structures, autonomy, and autonomous operations.

About Aurora

We are a passionate and agile team working together to advance the future of flight. With over 30 unique aircraft and three decades of innovation, we are dedicated to delivering exceptional solutions to our customers' toughest challenges.