The US Air Force Wants To Accelerate Urban Air Mobility. Here’s Why. | Agility Prime

A lot of the technology that we enjoy today, like the internet and GPS stem from military R&D.
And now the DoD is zeroing in on Electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing or eVTOL aircraft technology be a part of that succession.
But first, we need to talk about drones.
This is the Phantom 4 Pro version 2.0.
It’s a high-end consumer drone manufacture by the Chinese company, Dà-Jiāng Innovations or DJI.
DJI dominates the global consumer drone market with around a 70% market share.
Meanwhile, there’s the Urban Air Mobility or UAM market that is projected to emerge in the near future.
Aerospace advisory and investment firm, Nexa Advisors, released an in-depth global study with some eye-opening figures.
The study identified 74 cities around the world that could support a profitable UAM ecosystem.
And within those cities, there are $317 billion of potential revenue over the next 20 years.
Of that, $244 billion would come from operator revenue, $32 billion in infrastructure and airspace management, and $41 billion in eVTOL vehicle sales.
Now whether or not the UAM market will actually take off (pun intended); remains to be seen.
But the Pentagon is not taking any chances.
If the UAM market does take off, the Pentagon plans to ensure that innovations in electric aviation originate in the U.S.
The Air Force’s assistant secretary for acquisition Will Roper stated, “What we don’t want to have happen is the same thing that happened in the small drone migration to China.”
The issue boils down to supply chain and national security.
Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) signed a no-fly order to officially ground all of its drones—around 800 or so—due to cybersecurity concerns with drones manufactured in China or made from Chinese parts.
Roper believes that if the Military provided funding to U.S. companies for drone development, a domestic industry could have emerged, avoiding the situation.
And this is why the Air Force developed Agility Prime.
Agility Prime is an Air Force research and development program that seeks to accelerate the commercial market for advanced air mobility vehicles.
The Air Force hopes to utilize advanced air mobility vehicles in support roles such as personnel/cargo delivery, medical evacuation, firefighting, and civil and military disaster relief.
But the agency made it clear that they want to facilitate a commercial market that they can pull from.
The idea is to accelerate the market so that the Air Force can buy the exact same vehicles that are available domestically.
And Agility Prime is kicking things off with a challenge to eVTOL manufacturers to compete in a series of demonstrations that will hopefully lead to a significant production contract.
The first round is scheduled to take place by December 17th, for teams to demonstrate vehicles that can meet the following criteria:
Carry a payload of three to eight personnel.
Have a range greater than 160 km.
Capable of speeds greater than 160 km/h.
And able to operate longer than an hour.
The Air Force plans to do much more than this challenge.
They want to serve as a bridge for companies to scale up their production up, allowing the UAM market can get off the ground (another pun for you there).
In addition to R&D funding, the agency plans to guide them through regulations and help them gain certifications for local and state governments.
The plan is eventually to begin testing operational eVTOL aircraft by 2023.

There’s an American company developed an eVTOL aircraft that already meets the Air Force’s round 1 criteria.
Joby Aviation based in C.A. developed a four-passenger eVTOL that can reach speeds up to 321 kph, and with a range of 241 km.
Another American company worth mentioning is Kitty Hawk, which is backed by Larry Page.
Kitty Hawk is another CA-based company that developed the eVTOL Heavyside that meets all of the round 1 requirements except one.
Heavyside can reach speeds up to 354 km/h and has a range of about 160 km; however, it is a single-seat aircraft.
Kitty Hawk was very secretive with Heavyside, so they may have a larger aircraft in the works.
I’m excited to see what comes out of the Agility Prime program over the next three years.
However, in my opinion, the biggest constraint in Urban Air Mobility is battery technology.
But that’s a story for another video.