Aurora awarded concept demonstrator

COLUMBUS (AP) — Aurora Flight Sciences has been awarded a $47 million contract by the Air Force to develop a concept demonstrator for its Advanced Composite Cargo Aircraft program, officials said Monday.

The company said the contract provides funding for two phases of the project — the design of a next generation tactical cargo airplane and the actual fabrication and manufacture of the design.

The ACCA will be built in Aurora’s newly opened facility at the Golden Triangle Regional Airport near Columbus, the company said.

After conclusion of the second phase, the first flight of the aircraft will be conducted, Aurora said.

“Aurora is honored to have been selected by the United States Air Force to do this work,” Aurora President John Langford said in a statement. “We take great pride in our company’s leading edge innovation, and our unique capabilities in composites manufacturing.”

“This is great news for Aurora and for Mississippi,” said U.S. Rep. Roger Wicker, R-Miss. “The folks from Aurora competed for this contract with the biggest military contractors. This project will enhance Mississippi’s growing aerospace industry and expand economic opportunities in our state.”

Aurora Flight Sciences develops and provides robotic aircraft and other advanced aerospace vehicles for scientific and military applications. The company, headquartered in Virginia, operates production plants in Clarksburg, W.Va., and Columbus and a Research and Development Center in Cambridge, Mass.