Program Manager: Dr. Todd Hylton

The Nano Air Vehicle (NAV) Program will develop and demonstrate an extremely small (less than 7.5 cm), ultra-lightweight (less than 10 grams) air vehicle system with the potential to perform indoor and outdoor military missions. The program will explore novel, bio-inspired, conventional and unconventional configurations to provide the warfighter with unprecedented capability for urban mission operations.

The NAV Program will push the limits of aerodynamic and power conversion efficiency, endurance, and maneuverability for very small air vehicle systems. NAV platforms will be revolutionary in their ability to harness low Reynolds number physics, navigate in complex environments, and communicate over significant distances. Flight-enabling nano air vehicle system technologies include―

* Aerodynamic design tools to achieve high lift to drag airfoils.
* Lightweight, efficient propulsion and power subsystems.
* Guidance, navigation, and communication subsystems.
* Advanced manufacturing and innovative subsystem packaging and configuration layout.

Key objectives include the development of conformal, multifunctional structural hardware and strong, light, aerodynamic lifting surfaces/rotors for efficient flight at low Reynolds number (<15,000). The program will advance technologies that enable collision avoidance and navigation systems for use in GPS-denied indoor and outdoor environments and develop efficient methods for hovering flight and deployment or emplacement of sensors.

Source: DARPA.mil