Aurora Flight Sciences will continue designing an experimental heavy cargo seaplane for the U.S. military, as General Atomics’ pitch for the Liberty Lifter aircraft program has been dropped. The Pentagon announced that Aurora, a subsidiary of Boeing based in Manassas, Virginia, has received an $8.3 million contract modification to keep working on its mobility seaplane design. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency selected Aurora and General Atomics for the program in February 2023.
DARPA initially envisioned Liberty Lifter to be about the size of a C-17 Globemaster aircraft but has since scaled back the program to the size of a C-130 Hercules. The future Liberty Lifter aircraft could eventually be built to the scale of a C-17. Liberty Lifter is designed to take off and land in sea state 4 and sustain operations in sea state 5.
General Atomics proposed a twin-hull design, while Aurora’s design is closer to a traditional flying boat aircraft. DARPA ultimately chose to proceed with Aurora’s design, leading General Atomics to express interest in other programs. Aurora will continue designing its Liberty Lifter for a preliminary design review in early 2025, with the first flight intended to occur in late 2027 or early 2028.
