The quest to develop an unmanned A-10

Aurora Flight Sciences will serve as the leader of an effort to develop an unmanned version of the Air Force’s A-10 ground attack aircraft under the umbrella of the Defense Advanced Research Project Agency’s Persistent Close Air Support program, company officials said in a Feb. 16 statement.

Raytheon, which is spearheading DARPA’s Persistent Close Air Support (PCAS) program, chose Aurora for the work, according to the officials. The PCAS program seeks to develop the ability to digitally control a close air support platform from the ground.

Raytheon’s PCAS strategy is to develop technologies that will significantly reduce the time needed to deliver close air support through better coordination among joint terminal attack controllers, airborne sensors and weapons systems, the company statement said.