Company History

Aurora Flight Sciences manufactures state-of-the-art unmanned aerial systems and components for the scientific research, defense and homeland security markets. Aurora's unmanned aircraft are distinguished by their daring designs and record-breaking performances.

John Langford started Aurora Flight Sciences in a small Alexandria, VA office in May 1989. Langford had recently managed the world record breaking Daedalus human powered aircraft project at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He believed that many of the technologies to build Daedalus were directly applicable to the design and manufacture of high altitude unmanned systems that could be used for global climate change research. By the end of the summer, Aurora had secured its first contract. In 1991 Aurora's first aircraft, AU-001, made its initial flight.

Two years later, the steadily growing Aurora Flight Sciences moved to a regional airport west of Manassas, VA. In a rundown hangar where the company paid reduced rent in return for fixing up the building, Aurora's small staff continued designing unmanned aerial vehicles for scientific research. The company quickly outgrew its original space at the Manassas Regional Airport, and in 1994 moved into a new, larger hangar. Another major event in 1994 was the opening of Aurora's first manufacturing plant in Fairmont, WV. Throughout the mid-1990s the pace of aircraft development at Aurora was rapid, and several landmark achievements, including a world altitude record set by the Perseus B, were accomplished.

In 2000, Aurora shifted its West Virginia operation to a manufacturing plant in Bridgeport, WV at the Harrison-Marion Regional Airport. The new Aurora Flight Sciences of West Virginia facility enables Aurora to provide cost-effective, high-precision manufacturing services to large defense contractors. In addition to acquiring the manufacturing facility, Aurora developed strategic relationships with leading defense companies such as Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Raytheon and Sikorsky. Aurora has been a major supplier to the RQ-4 Global Hawk program since 1995, providing the primary composite flight structures for the high altitude long endurance UAS.

As Aurora focused on UAS design and aerostructures manufacturing, the company decided to spin off its flight control technology group. Spinning off the unit allowed the new company, called Athena Technologies, to grow into a leading supplier of UAS flight control systems.

Over the years, Aurora applied for and won numerous Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contracts from a variety of federal agencies. To date, Aurora has performed more than $80.6 million of SBIR-related work for government agencies such as NASA and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

Between 2000 and 2003, Aurora's engineers developed a series of innovative aircraft for scientific and tactical missions. In 2002, the HADD-1, a prototype of Aurora's MarsFlyer aircraft, set a new company altitude record when it flew to 101,000 feet during a high-altitude flight test.

The company's GoldenEye 100 and GoldenEye 50 aircraft made their first flights in 2003 and 2004 respectively. The ducted-fan, vertical takeoff and landing GoldenEye family of unmanned aircraft are designed for the defense, homeland security and law enforcement markets. In November 2004, Aurora was selected to compete the GoldenEye 80 in Phase I of DARPA’s Organic Air Vehicle-II (OAV-II) program. The OAV-II is designed to provide company-sized military ground units with autonomous unmanned aircraft capabilities. During 2004, Aurora's revenues grew by more than 70% and the company's staff grew to more than 270.

Aurora’s rapid growth continued throughout 2005 as the company maintained its 40% average compounded annual growth rate for the fifth straight year. During the year, Aurora opened two facilities and broke ground on a third. Aurora Flight Sciences of Mississippi (AMS) opened a composite manufacturing and aircraft final assembly plant in northeast Mississippi, beginning development of the Orion HALL, Aurora’s innovative hydrogen-powered unmanned aircraft. In August, Aurora broke ground on an expansion of its Manassas corporate headquarters. In December, Aurora returned to its roots by opening its Research and Development Center in Cambridge, MA. The R&D center’s mission is to collaborate with researchers at MIT and other Boston-area organizations to develop new and innovative technologies that Aurora can integrate into its unmanned vehicles.

Activity on several programs accelerated in 2005. The Global Hawk team delivered the first ship sets for the new, 17% larger, RQ-4B Global Hawk. The GoldenEye team was selected for Phase II of DARPA’s OAV-II competition. The flight envelope of the GoldenEye 50 was expanded and preparations began to move the system from a technology demonstrator to a fieldable system.

In 2006, development of the Excalibur Tactical Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle continued with the Excalibur team finalizing the design and starting work on subscale proof-of-principle aircraft. Excalibur’s Turbine-Electric Hybrid VTOL (TEHV) concept includes a turbine heavy fuel engine and battery-electric lift fans.

In March 2006, GoldenEye 50 passed the 100-flight milestone. In June, Team GoldenEye transitioned from Phase II of OAV-II to the third phase and Bell Helicopter selected Aurora as the airframe provider of the Bell Eagle Eye UAS. A month later, Aurora broke ground for a permanent Columbus, MS manufacturing facility at the Golden Triangle Regional Airport. In August, Aurora dedicated its new Product Development Facility at the Manassas Regional Airport, housing the company’s engineering, tactical systems and science applications organizations. GoldenEye 80, the first ducted fan UAV to fly under the power of a heavy fuel engine, achieved its first flight in November.

As Aurora approaches its 20th anniversary, the company's growth and pace of vehicle development is accelerating. The company currently has more UAS development projects underway than at any other time in its history.