First Production Centaur OPV Flies to Switzerland

By Brett Davis

Aurora Flight Sciences says it has delivered the world’s first production optionally piloted vehicle, Centaur, to Switzerland’s department of defense.

The Centaur OPV — flown by a human pilot — left the Manassas Regional Airport in Virginia on 26 Nov. for delivery to Armasuisse at Emmen Military Airfield in Switzerland, arriving two days later.

The Centaur can be flown in three modes: manned, unmanned and from the ground with a human safety pilot onboard.

“Centaur is an ideal platform for Switzerland’s initiative to develop new technologies that will enable UAV operations in the Swiss national air space,” says John Langford, Aurora Flight Sciences’ Chairman and CEO. “Coupled with our recent selection by the U.S. Navy for the AACUS program and by DARPA and Raytheon for the PCAS program, Centaur establishes Aurora as the industry leader in optionally piloted aircraft technology.”