As a subsidiary, Aurora’s innovation is combined with Boeing’s size and strength, creating an unprecedented opportunity to advance the future of flight.

Aurora Flight Sciences is a leader in the development and manufacturing of advanced unmanned systems and aerospace vehicles.  At the core of our company’s mission is a commitment to the science of autonomous flight; whether that means a fully autonomous drone, or a program that is breaking new ground in the interface between man and machine as it relates to flight. Aurora Flight Sciences was founded in 1989 and has since designed, produced, and flown more than 30 unmanned air vehicles, pioneering technologies of long-endurance aircraft, robotic co-pilots, and autonomous electric VTOL aircraft. Aurora’s demonstrated capabilities have made it a leader in the emerging field of electric propulsion for aircraft. During the last decade, Aurora has collaborated with Boeing on the rapid prototyping of innovative aircraft and structural assemblies for both military and commercial applications. As a subsidiary, Aurora’s innovation is combined with Boeing’s size and strength, creating an unprecedented opportunity to advance the future of flight. Headquartered in Manassas, Virginia, Aurora operates production plants in Bridgeport, West Virginia and Columbus, Mississippi. We have Research and Development Centers in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Dayton, Ohio and Menlo Park, California, and a European office, Aurora Swiss Aerospace, located in Luzern, Switzerland. Our facility in West Virginia focuses on the design, building and printing of aerostructure components utilizing lean aerospace manufacturing techniques and technologies. The West Virginia facility is the center of Aurora’s composite manufacturing work for military aircraft, with the RQ-4 Global Hawk/Triton and the CH-53K King Stallion providing the foundation. First established in 1994, Aurora’s WV manufacturing facilities have grown over the years to a total 125,000 sq. feet between three buildings. The site is well equipped with a machine shop, welding shop, heat treat furnace, paint booth, a 2,000 sq. ft. environmentally-controlled inspection room, two 10,000 sq. ft. class 10,000 clean rooms for composite lay-up and assembly, three dual head Virtek laser ply location stations, a 24 foot automated ply cutter, two autoclaves and a reconfigurable shop floor. Aurora WV is also the company’s tooling “Center of Excellence” and maintains a full staff of design, stress, quality and manufacturing engineers. Timeline of 25 years of our robotic aircraft:  Aurora Making Aircraft Smarter Timeline