The SPRINT challenge, a collaborative effort between the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and the U.S. Department of Defense, aims to develop unbiased artificial intelligence systems that can accurately assess and provide feedback on human behavior. The Particular Operations Command’s initiative aims to develop, build, and test an experimental aircraft (X-plane) to demonstrate groundbreaking technologies and integrated concepts that enable a revolutionary combination of airspeed and self-contained mobility. The SPRINT X-plane serves as a proof-of-concept expert demonstrator, with its flight test programme designed to verify the effectiveness of enablers and integrated concepts that can be scaled to various-sized naval aircraft. This system aims to provide aircraft with the capability to operate flexibly, cruising at speeds ranging from 400 to 450 knots while maintaining corresponding altitudes, and also permitting hovering in challenging environments from improvised or unprepared surfaces?

The SPRINT program commenced Section 1 operations on November 1, 2023. As of May 2024, two pioneers in the field – Aurora Flight Sciences and Bell Textron, Inc. have successfully secured contracts for Part 1B. Designers typically have approximately 12 months to complete their initial design work on a new aircraft project.