From The Archives: 20 Years Ago In Aviation Week

In September 2004, Aviation Week featured DARPA’s Unmanned Combat Armed Rotorcraft (UCAR) on its cover, just a few months before the highly ambitious effort was canceled. UCAR was being designed to operate autonomously and distinguish combatants from non-combatants in hostile environments, reclaiming battlespace in which manned helicopters would not fly (see p. 46). 

The cover showed designs from both competitors: Lockheed Martin’s propulsive anti-torque system and Northrop Grumman’s intermeshing rotor system. 

Cover illustration created for the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency by Barclay Shaw of Shaw Graphics.

September 6 2004 | Aviation Week

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