For more than two decades, VX Aerospace has applied aerospace engineering, advanced composites, and innovative manufacturing techniques to projects ranging from unmanned aircraft systems and military aviation programs to autonomous logistics platforms and infrastructure monitoring solutions.
VX Aerospace has grown from a specialized composites manufacturer into a multidisciplinary aerospace company providing aircraft design, unmanned aircraft systems development, composite structures, tooling, and advanced manufacturing services. Our projects span defense, commercial aviation, autonomous systems, infrastructure monitoring, and collaborative research initiatives with industry leaders, government organizations, and leading universities.
Through a combination of engineering expertise, advanced manufacturing capabilities, and collaborative partnerships, VX Aerospace has helped customers bring complex concepts from initial design and prototyping through testing, production, and operational deployment. The following projects highlight the breadth of experience and technical capabilities that define our work.
Designed by VX Aerospace, the VX-1 KittyHawk™ stands out from other aircraft thanks to its original blended-wing carbon structure. KittyHawk™ is a revolutionary airplane that takes the well-known advantages of traditional blended-wing aircraft and associates them with today’s state-of-the-art concepts, materials and manufacturing techniques. This one-of-a-kind configuration combines dynamic stability and aerodynamic efficiency. In addition, thanks to the use of high-performance composites, the structure has low density, high damage tolerance and fewer parts.
The VX-1 KittyHawk™ was developed in collaboration with the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at North Carolina State University. The novel design was conceived at VX Aerospace with computational fluid dynamics, wind tunnel testing and flight performance analysis performed at the university. Once the concept validation was complete, a fully instrumented subscale test aircraft was built and flown at VX. The flight test results confirmed the preceding aerodynamic analysis and informed the team on the unique characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of wingless aircraft platforms.
KHv2 was developed to address one of the most significant challenges facing autonomous air cargo transportation: how to safely manage cargo without onboard personnel. Working with North Carolina State University and RMD Systems, VX Aerospace developed the Smart Box, an autonomous cargo management system capable of performing weight-and-balance calculations and supporting automated loading and unloading operations. The aircraft was then designed around the Smart Box concept, resulting in a hybrid wing-body platform optimized for autonomous cargo missions. After evaluating nearly 60 aircraft configurations over 15 months, the team developed a design capable of carrying a 2,000-pound payload while operating from short runways and supporting long-range cargo operations.
VX Aerospace provided the composite expertise and manufacture of the Robotinspection beam for San Giorgio Bridge in Genoa, Italy.
The RobotInspection is essentially a carbon fiber beam with a fixed section and a retractable one. When the retractable beam is fully elongated, the RobotInspection reaches 17 meters (56 ft) in length. The robot weighs 2200 kg (4850 lbs.); it is 7-meters (23 ft) wide and is anchored to the rails with 56 wheels. Another 26 wheels are in place for moving the retractable beam. The robot moves at a rate of 100-150 mm/s (20-30 fpm) over the rails.
In cooperation with the University of South Carolina and Ingersoll, VX Aerospace built the RobotInspection’s beams in fiber reinforced polymer having the high-rigidity / low-weight ratio that was requested by the bridge designer. The beams are carbon fiber with an aerospace-type structure. Ingersoll 3D printed and trimmed the two 38 ft long tools. This approach reduced the overall lead time for the construction of the two RobotInspection beams from months to weeks, and played an essential role in shortening the construction schedule.
VX Aerospace became the go-to support for the life extension of the Marine Corps H-46 helicopter until it could be replaced by the V-22. We provided quick-turn composite solutions for multiple applications on the aircraft saving the Marine Corp millions of dollars and allowing for quick return to service. VX Aerospace received a note of recognition for the support we provided to the Marine Corps.