More Cost-Effective Tech for Aerial Combat

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The USAF Armament Directorate has awarded the North American Wave Engine Corporation (“Wave Engine Corp.”) a $1 million contract to build and demonstrate the Versatile Air-Launched Platform (VALP) as part of the USAF’s efforts to develop high-impact technologies critical to the future of aviation and aerial combat.

Designed primarily as a decoy, VALP is a multi-mission, air-launched vehicle demonstrating high-performance, low-cost propulsion for future generations of high-performance aerial vehicles.

The propulsion technology provides jet performance and Full Authority Digital Electronic Control (FADEC) in a highly cost-effective powerplant that requires no moving parts.

Wave engines are a class of aircraft engines that operate using pressure waves instead of rotating machinery. Intermittent combustion inside a hollow tube produces pressure waves that push hot gases and produce thrust. The technology enables an order-of-magnitude reduction in the cost and complexity of jet propulsion, making it practical for wide variety of aviation platforms for which jet propulsion was previously cost-prohibitive according to the company’s announcement in businesswire.com.