AEVEX and Divergent collaborate on autonomous aircraft development
AEVEX Corp, headquartered in Solana Beach, California, USA, and Divergent Technologies, Inc, based in Torrance, California, have announced a strategic collaboration to develop a next-generation autonomous platform intended to address emerging mission requirements. The companies will combine AEVEX’s experience in unmanned systems with Divergent’s manufacturing technology, with the aim of accelerating the development and production of future platforms.
AEVEX states that it has delivered thousands of unmanned systems globally and has experience in payload integration, testing and transitioning systems from development to deployment. Divergent’s digital manufacturing platform, the Divergent Adaptive Production System (DAPS), combines AI-enabled design optimisation, Additive Manufacturing, robotic assembly and model-driven certification.
Through the collaboration, AEVEX and Divergent plan to explore adaptive airframe architectures and digitally defined manufacturing processes intended to shorten development times, reduce part counts and support scalable production. The companies stated that the work is also intended to support modernisation of the defence industrial base by improving the design-to-production process.
“AEVEX has built its reputation on operational excellence, delivering adaptable systems that meet urgent needs at scale,” stated Manan Patel, Chief Technology Officer at AEVEX. “Working with Divergent allows us to evaluate next-generation manufacturing concepts that could improve responsiveness and bring new flexibility to how future unmanned systems are developed and delivered.”
“We’re proud to collaborate with AEVEX to deliver mass at the pace of need,” stated Lukas Czinger, co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Divergent. “Divergent is a force multiplier for our customers’ programs, and we’re excited to integrate DAPS with AEVEX’s field-proven expertise to set a new standard for delivering capability at speed and scale.”
Initial work will focus on adaptable airframe concepts, rapid integration workflows and digitally enabled production methods.
