Railgun Installed On Japanese Warship Seen In New Photos
The images of Asuka and its railgun in port in Yokosuka, seen at the top of this story and below, come from @HNlEHupY4Nr6hRM on X who originally posted online. All of the images were taken on June 30. Additional photos of the ship taken recently are also circulating online. Asuka, a 6,200-ton-displacement dedicated testbed with a warship-like design, first emerged with the turreted railgun on its stern flight deck in April.
The pictures show the shroud around the railgun removed so that work can be performed on the weapon inside. This confirms that the railgun installed in the turret on Asuka is extremely similar, if not identical, to a prototype that the Japanese Ministry of Defense's Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) has been testing on land and sea for a number of years now. TWZ had posited that this was likely the case based on what was visible in previous available imagery. How exactly the design may have evolved over the years is unclear.
Also visible are what look to be several containerized generators and/or capacitors, as well as other shipping containers that could contain additional systems or workspaces. Railguns, which use electromagnets instead of chemical propellants to fire projectiles at very high velocities, have historically had significant power generation and cooling requirements. These demands mean that complete railgun weapon systems are typically physically very bulky.
06/30/2025 試験艦 あすか 搭載しているレールガン整備中でした。砲身カバーも外して砲身本体も見えました pic.twitter.com/PDLvXXsLgm
— (´･(ｪ)･｀) (@Gov_Vessel_fan) June 30, 2025
With all this in mind, TWZ previously noted that installing the railgun turret Asuka's flight deck made good sense from a testing perspective, given the ample open space it offered. Integrating the weapon onto an operational warship in a traditional manner would require meeting the power and cooling demands, as well as finding sufficient space below deck for the various components, in addition to the time and resources for those more extensive modifications.
Railguns present additional challenges when it comes to the wear and tear of sustained firing of projectiles at very high speeds. As barrels quickly wear out from extreme friction, the weapon's range and accuracy are degraded, and the potential risk of a catastrophic failure can emerge.
In past testing, ATLA has reportedly demonstrated the ability to fire rounds at a velocity of around 4,988 miles per hour (2,230 meters per second; Mach 6.5) while using five megajoules (MJ), or 5 million joules (J), of charge energy. As of April, prior testing goals had included a muzzle velocity of at least 4,473 miles-per-hour (2,000 meters-per-second) and a barrel life of 120 rounds, according to Naval News. Reports say that ATLA has also been working to reduce the weapon's power requirements.
In May, Aviation Week reported that at least one at-sea test of Asuka's railgun installation was set to occur sometime in June. Yahoo Japan subsequently published a story saying that the testing window would span from June 9 to July 25. That same piece said that the test ship had been observed departing Yokosuka on June 9, but it is unclear whether or not any live-fire testing has yet taken place.
Speaking through an interpreter at a panel discussion at DSEI Japan 2025, Kazumi Ito, principal director of the equipment policy division at ATLA, said Japan's railgun efforts were 'progressing,' but acknowledged 'various challenges,' according to National Defense Magazine.
Despite the challenges, Japanese authorities have made clear they are looking toward an operational naval railgun capability in the future. Starting at the DSEI Japan 2025 exposition earlier this year, the Japanese Ministry of Defense has been publicly showing a model of a railgun in a turret with a much more streamlined design than the one currently on Asuka.
Railgun
GUNDAMのビームライフルみたいなモノらしい！やべー
#防衛省#防衛省・自衛隊#レールガンpic.twitter.com/pfNgtpbTlp
— TAC✩FIGHTER. NJ
7/6札幌SGGM
(@Tacforce_japan) July 1, 2025
In a public presentation in 2024, JMSDF Vice Adm. Imayoshi Shinichi, ATLA's director general of Naval Systems, had also highlighted plans to integrate a railgun on future 13DDX destroyers, which are expected to begin entering service in 2024. ATLA has previously shown an artist's conception of a Maya class destroyer, also known as the 27DDG class, armed with a railgun, as well.
Japan's future Destroyers and Submarines at CNE 2024 https://t.co/aCEMqWX0od @YouTubeより 13DDX！！！！！！！！レーザー！A-SAM！レールガン！あとなにげにFutureAEGISがASEVに近くない！？ pic.twitter.com/e1uvqAVoZl
— Yasuおすぎ
@C106 日曜 東キ-05b (@yasu_osugi) May 28, 2024
The video below, which ATLA put out last year, also depicts ground-based railguns mounted on trucks.
As terms of potential operational applications of either naval or ground-based railguns, these weapons hold the promise of being potent anti-air assets, in addition to being able to engage targets at sea and on land. As TWZ has previously written:
'In principle, a practical electromagnetic railgun would offer a highly capable and flexible weapon system that can rapidly engage a wide array of targets at sea, on land, and even in the air, and at considerable ranges. Japan has previously expressed interest in this capability explicitly to help protect against incoming hypersonic threats. Such a weapon would also offer benefits in terms of magazine depth and cost compared to traditional surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles, given the small size and lower unit price of the individual rounds.'
'When it comes to warships, in particular, where physical space is at a premium and where options for reloading missiles at sea can be at best extremely limited, having a weapon system firing lower-cost munitions from a large magazine and that can engage a broad swath of target sets would be a clear boon.'
Japan is certainly not alone in trying to turn the capabilities that a railgun could offer into a reality. The U.S. Navy and the U.S. Army have experimented with railgun designs in the past two decades or so. The Navy was particularly active on this front from 2005 to 2022, but ultimately shelved that work in the face of persistent technical issues. Planned at-sea testing was never conducted after being repeatedly set back. Interestingly, ATLA has reportedly met with U.S. Navy representatives about potentially leveraging the service's past railgun work.
'In getting closer to the deployment, I believe the scope of collaboration [with the United States] will be expanded,' ATLA's Ito had also said during the DSEI Japan 2025 panel discussion, per National Defense Magazine.
In the meantime, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Army have already continued to leverage hypervelocity projectiles previously developed for the railgun for use in conventional naval and ground-based guns. Using the fast-flying projectiles for air defense applications, including knocking down incoming cruise missiles and drones, remains a particular area of interest.
China, a major competitor for Japan on both regional and global levels, has been notably active in developing naval railguns, as well. A turreted railgun first emerged on a People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) ship back in 2018. How that development of that design or other Chinese railguns has progressed since then is unclear.
Other countries, most notably Turkey, are also now actively pursuing railguns, including for naval use. In 2024, Japanese authorities themselves signed a deal to cooperate on future railgun developments with their counterparts in France and Germany.
New details about Japan's progress toward fielding an operational naval railgun may begin to emerge soon based on the results of the testing of the prototype installed on Asuka.
Special thanks again to @HNlEHupY4Nr6hRM for sharing the pictures of Asuka with its railgun with us.
Howard Altman contributed to this story.
Contact the author: joe@twz.com
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21 hours ago
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Railgun Installed On Japanese Warship Seen In New Photos
New pictures have emerged showing work being done on the Japan Self-Defense Forces' prototype electromagnetic railgun currently installed on the test warship JS Asuka. An at-sea test of the weapon in this configuration is expected to come before the end of the month, if it has not occurred already. Japan's continued developments in this realm stand in notable contrast to the U.S. Navy's shelving of its promising pursuit of this category of weapons in the early 2020s after major technical hurdles emerged. The images of Asuka and its railgun in port in Yokosuka, seen at the top of this story and below, come from @HNlEHupY4Nr6hRM on X who originally posted online. All of the images were taken on June 30. Additional photos of the ship taken recently are also circulating online. Asuka, a 6,200-ton-displacement dedicated testbed with a warship-like design, first emerged with the turreted railgun on its stern flight deck in April. The pictures show the shroud around the railgun removed so that work can be performed on the weapon inside. This confirms that the railgun installed in the turret on Asuka is extremely similar, if not identical, to a prototype that the Japanese Ministry of Defense's Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency (ATLA) has been testing on land and sea for a number of years now. TWZ had posited that this was likely the case based on what was visible in previous available imagery. How exactly the design may have evolved over the years is unclear. Also visible are what look to be several containerized generators and/or capacitors, as well as other shipping containers that could contain additional systems or workspaces. Railguns, which use electromagnets instead of chemical propellants to fire projectiles at very high velocities, have historically had significant power generation and cooling requirements. These demands mean that complete railgun weapon systems are typically physically very bulky. 06/30/2025 試験艦 あすか 搭載しているレールガン整備中でした。砲身カバーも外して砲身本体も見えました — (´･(ｪ)･｀) (@Gov_Vessel_fan) June 30, 2025 With all this in mind, TWZ previously noted that installing the railgun turret Asuka's flight deck made good sense from a testing perspective, given the ample open space it offered. Integrating the weapon onto an operational warship in a traditional manner would require meeting the power and cooling demands, as well as finding sufficient space below deck for the various components, in addition to the time and resources for those more extensive modifications. Railguns present additional challenges when it comes to the wear and tear of sustained firing of projectiles at very high speeds. As barrels quickly wear out from extreme friction, the weapon's range and accuracy are degraded, and the potential risk of a catastrophic failure can emerge. In past testing, ATLA has reportedly demonstrated the ability to fire rounds at a velocity of around 4,988 miles per hour (2,230 meters per second; Mach 6.5) while using five megajoules (MJ), or 5 million joules (J), of charge energy. As of April, prior testing goals had included a muzzle velocity of at least 4,473 miles-per-hour (2,000 meters-per-second) and a barrel life of 120 rounds, according to Naval News. Reports say that ATLA has also been working to reduce the weapon's power requirements. In May, Aviation Week reported that at least one at-sea test of Asuka's railgun installation was set to occur sometime in June. Yahoo Japan subsequently published a story saying that the testing window would span from June 9 to July 25. That same piece said that the test ship had been observed departing Yokosuka on June 9, but it is unclear whether or not any live-fire testing has yet taken place. Speaking through an interpreter at a panel discussion at DSEI Japan 2025, Kazumi Ito, principal director of the equipment policy division at ATLA, said Japan's railgun efforts were 'progressing,' but acknowledged 'various challenges,' according to National Defense Magazine. Despite the challenges, Japanese authorities have made clear they are looking toward an operational naval railgun capability in the future. Starting at the DSEI Japan 2025 exposition earlier this year, the Japanese Ministry of Defense has been publicly showing a model of a railgun in a turret with a much more streamlined design than the one currently on Asuka. Railgun GUNDAMのビームライフルみたいなモノらしい！やべー #防衛省#防衛省・自衛隊#レールガン — TAC✩FIGHTER. NJ 7/6札幌SGGM (@Tacforce_japan) July 1, 2025 In a public presentation in 2024, JMSDF Vice Adm. Imayoshi Shinichi, ATLA's director general of Naval Systems, had also highlighted plans to integrate a railgun on future 13DDX destroyers, which are expected to begin entering service in 2024. ATLA has previously shown an artist's conception of a Maya class destroyer, also known as the 27DDG class, armed with a railgun, as well. Japan's future Destroyers and Submarines at CNE 2024 @YouTubeより 13DDX！！！！！！！！レーザー！A-SAM！レールガン！あとなにげにFutureAEGISがASEVに近くない！？ — Yasuおすぎ @C106 日曜 東キ-05b (@yasu_osugi) May 28, 2024 The video below, which ATLA put out last year, also depicts ground-based railguns mounted on trucks. As terms of potential operational applications of either naval or ground-based railguns, these weapons hold the promise of being potent anti-air assets, in addition to being able to engage targets at sea and on land. As TWZ has previously written: 'In principle, a practical electromagnetic railgun would offer a highly capable and flexible weapon system that can rapidly engage a wide array of targets at sea, on land, and even in the air, and at considerable ranges. Japan has previously expressed interest in this capability explicitly to help protect against incoming hypersonic threats. Such a weapon would also offer benefits in terms of magazine depth and cost compared to traditional surface-to-air and surface-to-surface missiles, given the small size and lower unit price of the individual rounds.' 'When it comes to warships, in particular, where physical space is at a premium and where options for reloading missiles at sea can be at best extremely limited, having a weapon system firing lower-cost munitions from a large magazine and that can engage a broad swath of target sets would be a clear boon.' Japan is certainly not alone in trying to turn the capabilities that a railgun could offer into a reality. The U.S. Navy and the U.S. Army have experimented with railgun designs in the past two decades or so. The Navy was particularly active on this front from 2005 to 2022, but ultimately shelved that work in the face of persistent technical issues. Planned at-sea testing was never conducted after being repeatedly set back. Interestingly, ATLA has reportedly met with U.S. Navy representatives about potentially leveraging the service's past railgun work. 'In getting closer to the deployment, I believe the scope of collaboration [with the United States] will be expanded,' ATLA's Ito had also said during the DSEI Japan 2025 panel discussion, per National Defense Magazine. In the meantime, the U.S. Navy and the U.S. Army have already continued to leverage hypervelocity projectiles previously developed for the railgun for use in conventional naval and ground-based guns. Using the fast-flying projectiles for air defense applications, including knocking down incoming cruise missiles and drones, remains a particular area of interest. China, a major competitor for Japan on both regional and global levels, has been notably active in developing naval railguns, as well. A turreted railgun first emerged on a People's Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) ship back in 2018. How that development of that design or other Chinese railguns has progressed since then is unclear. Other countries, most notably Turkey, are also now actively pursuing railguns, including for naval use. In 2024, Japanese authorities themselves signed a deal to cooperate on future railgun developments with their counterparts in France and Germany. New details about Japan's progress toward fielding an operational naval railgun may begin to emerge soon based on the results of the testing of the prototype installed on Asuka. Special thanks again to @HNlEHupY4Nr6hRM for sharing the pictures of Asuka with its railgun with us. Howard Altman contributed to this story. Contact the author: joe@
Yahoo
07-06-2025
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This Could Be Our Best View Yet Of China's J-36 Very Heavy Stealth Tactical Jet
A new image appearing to show China's 'J-36' 6th generation tactical jet parked on the ground has emerged online. If legitimate, this would be the best front view of the aircraft to date, notably providing clear proof of the canopy design and further confirmation of a side-by-side seating arrangement. What looks to be three open ventral weapons bays, along with nearby personnel, underscore the design's large size — something of a hybrid between a very heavy fighter and a tactical bomber. You can read more about what is already known about the J-36, as well as the second of China's 6th generation jets, referred to variously as the J-XDS or J-50, in this past in-depth feature. It is immediately worth noting that there are some visual anomalies in the image in question, which is seen at the top of this story and in various parts below, and was clearly taken with a long lens at a distance, low over the ground. Most significantly, areas around the rear end of the aircraft and its dorsal inlet look as though they may have been 'smudged' or 'cloned out' to some degree. This 'missing area' behind the dorsal inlet could also just be glare from a lighter-colored section of the aircraft camouflage paint scheme, or some combination of the two, but it is hard to say definitively. The main gear area — especially the right side of the image) appears to be manipulated or there is something placed there in the shadows. The image is also a picture taken of another picture on a computer monitor, which could cause some visual distortions. In addition, many phone cameras now produce images that are 'enhanced' by default. At the same time, overall, the core image does look legitimate. In addition, the background aligns with an area around an extended-width shelter, and especially the distinctive white slatted jet-blast barrier built behind it. The shelter first appeared at the Chengdu Aircraft Corporation's main plant in the Chinese city of the same name last December. That was when the J-36, together with the J-XDS/J-50, first broke cover. Chengdu is understood to be the developer of the J-36, and the aircraft been observed flying from there on multiple occasions in the past six months. Another secure hangar on the main ramp appears to have been built to support the program, as well. If the image is indeed real, it would fully put to rest the question of whether or not the J-36 has at least a two-seat side-by-side cockpit configuration akin to the U.S.-made F-111 or the Soviet-designed Su-34. The green-tinted reflections from two separate heads-up displays (HUDs) are plainly visible, as seen below. TWZ has previously noted that a crew of two seems most likely to meet the demands of the jet's expected mission sets, as you can read more about more in this past feature. Also, perhaps of the highest interest at this stage, is the very strong evidence, based on the open doors that are visible, of the presence of two smaller weapons bays that flank the jet's large ventral weapons bay. There does not appear to be any confusion between those bay doors and the ones for the aircraft's landing gear. Previous underside views of the J-36 have shown large, molded, outward-hinging doors for the aircraft's large tandem-wheel main landing gear, as well as two smaller doors for the nose gear bay. The possibility of additional weapons bays within the J-36's fuselage to either side of the main bay has been raised in the past, but there has been no clear evidence of that in the past. TWZ has previously highlighted the significant internal volume, overall, that the J-36 clearly has, and the implications thereof, writing: 'The semi-blended ventral central fuselage area has some similarities with the J-20, notably its weapons bay configuration. While the aircraft clearly has a very large internal volume, putting a bit of a bias on fuel fraction over magazine depth would be a good assumption. A weapons bay somewhat longer, but far deeper than that found on the J-20 would provide ample space for multiple smaller stores and at least a couple of very large ones. A rotary weapons rack seems questionable, but if it is possible, it would only be advantageous for certain weapons loadouts featuring numerous, smaller munitions. Additional side bays for air-to-air weaponry, as shown by many fan art depictions, may be possible, although there is no clear evidence of them at this time.' The two auxiliary bays would be especially useful for air-to-air missiles and smaller guided air-to-surface weapons, which would allow the cavernous central bay to be reserved for larger loads, including outsized standoff weapons. Before this image, there was only speculation and fleeting evidence that these bays might exist, but now it seems quite likely they do. You can also see these bay doors swing outward, precluding them from being related to the aircraft's main landing gear. In addition, the new head-on image offers another look at the large aperture windows, typically associated with electro-optical/infrared sensors, on either side of the J-36's nose. We also get an additional view of the lower trapezoidal air inlets on either side of J-36's cockpit, as well as the dorsal inlet, which are linked to the aircraft's unique triple-engine configuration. The lower inlets are broadly similar in shape to those found on the U.S. F-22 Raptor stealth fighter. Otherwise, as noted, the view in the newly emerged image underscores the overall size of the J-36, which is itself a very unusual feature of the design. The ground personnel visible provide an additional sense of scale that we've not had previously. China is known to have been pursuing a 'regional bomber' of sorts, sometimes referred to as the JH-XX, at least in the past. It remains unclear whether or not the J-36 is meant to fulfill the JH-XX requirements in any way, or blend them together in some part with a next-generation heavy fighter role. As TWZ previously wrote in our deep-dive feature into what is known about the J-36, and, to a lesser extent, the J-XDS/J-50: 'Similar to the 6th generation definition issue, putting an aircraft like this into a single bucket is challenging just as an observational exercise, and the reality of how China views it could reflect that. Definitively declaring any new highly advanced platform a 'bomber' in 2025 is also an uninformed simplification or just a casual moniker. Just as the B-21 is a multi-role platform, the JH-XX, and even the H-20, would be as well, with the latter's less traditional capabilities possibly expanding more slowly over time. While fine to use casually, the term 'bomber' is now a traditional carry-over that is unrepresentative of what any new long-range, high-end combat aircraft will be capable of.' The new image of the J-36 is the latest in a steady stream of increasingly more interesting visuals of that aircraft, as well as the J-XDS/J-50, which continue to offer more and more insights into both designs. Just in the past week, we had already gotten our first real head-on look at the J-36. This all follows typical trends with regard to 'leaked' imagery of new Chinese aircraft and other military assets, and as we stated in our original analysis, we would likely get an image like this by Summer. More detailed images, as well as one from the rear aspects will surely come. Contact the author: joe@
Yahoo
03-06-2025
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Otto Aviation's Phantom 3500 Aims To Massively Disrupt Private Jet Market
Disruptor aircraft company Otto Aviation is aiming to achieve first flight with what could potentially be a revolutionary high-efficiency business jet-type aircraft with a tear-drop-shaped fuselage called the Phantom 3500 by the end of the decade, if not within the next two years or so. Otto has made very bold claims that still have yet to be realized, but if they are, even in part, they could be transformative for the aviation industry, including for military applications. The Phantom 3500 leverages previous work on a broadly similar piston engine design called the Celera 500L, which TWZ was the first to report on the existence of when it was still very mysterious back in 2017. Otto Aviation highlighted the ongoing development of the Phantom 3500 in a video released earlier this month, seen below. The company first unveiled the design, originally called the Celera 800, in 2023. It was '10 years of very difficult labor-of-love work to build the Celera 500,' Otto Aviation CEO Paul Touw says in the video. 'That data was used to help refine all of our technology and tools to build the second aircraft, which is now called the Phantom.' The Phantom 3500 is a significantly different design from the Celera 500L, most immediately in its planned use of two Williams FJ44 turbofan engines, one mounted on each side of the rear of the fuselage, for propulsion. The Celera 500L has a Raikhlin Aircraft Engine Developments (RED) A03 V12 piston engine driving a pusher propeller at the tail end. The RED A03 is a high-efficiency multi-fuel design that you can read more about here. Otto has also completely changed the wing and tail configuration for the Phantom 3500. The jet-powered design's main wings are much larger and feature a wider chord than those found on the Celera 500L. It also features a T-tail unlike its predecessor, which had horizontal stabilizers on either side of the rear fuselage. What Phantom 3500 and the Celera 500L do share is a tear-drop-shaped fuselage optimized to take advantage of what is called laminar flow, something that has been central to Otto Aviation's developments to date. In broad terms, laminar flow refers to liquid or gaseous 'fluids,' including air, flowing in smooth, regular layers with little to no mixing between them. 'In traditional aircraft, airflow over the fuselage and wings quickly becomes turbulent, creating drag that wastes energy and fuel,' Otto's website explains. 'Laminar flow keeps air moving smoothly along the aircraft's surface, reducing resistance and improving aerodynamic efficiency.' 'Virtuous cycle is the synthesis cycle of aircraft design. The virtuous cycle that we use, you take laminar flow, apply it to your design, and your drag goes down. When your drag goes down, your fuel burn goes down. When your fuel burn goes down, fuel required goes down,' Scott Drennan, Otto's President and Chief Operating Officer, explains in the video released earlier this month. This, in turn, allows for 'smaller engines, smaller structure to support all that, and it starts to loop down that curve, so you have a lighter, high performance aircraft that still meets all the customer experience expectations.' In the video, Otto CEO Touw says the Phantom 3500 is expected to burn 115 gallons of fuel per hour. The average burn rate for other comparable business jets like the Bombardier Challenger 350, Cessna Citation Latitude, and Embraer Praetor 500 is around 300 gallons per hour, according to the company, citing data from Jet Support Services, Inc. (JSSI). In addition to the 'virtuous cycle' around fuel burn, 'there's a wonderful performance cycle. Here, our wings are in complete laminar flow. They almost disappear from a drag perspective. We can actually make the wing bigger to perform a number of beautiful performance tricks,' Touw adds. 'One is a bigger wing allows you to take off on a shorter distance or land on a shorter distance. That bigger wing, with a lot less drag, produces more lift, and that allows you to climb much faster.' Touw says this will roughly double the number of airports in the United States that the Phantom 3500 can operate from over comparable business jets. The Phantom 3500 is also expected to benefit from additional efficiencies gained by cruising at altitudes of up to 51,000 feet. Otto is projecting an absolute maximum unrefueled range of 3,500 nautical miles, reflected in the 3500 in the name, and the ability to fly up to 3,200 nautical miles with four passengers on board. Otto has said previously that the Celera 500L flew at altitudes up to 15,000 feet and speeds up to 250 miles per hour during flight testing, which it projected would translate to a speed of around 460 miles per hour at 50,000 feet. In a recent interview with FlightGlobal, Touw also said that wind-tunnel testing conducted last year 'surprised even us,' especially in terms of data collected on the expected drag of the Phantom 3500 design. 'We didn't think we would be able to take that much energy out of a flight.' As noted, the results of laminar flow shaping for the fuselage also allows for larger internal volume than comparably sized aircraft with more traditional designs. Otto says the Phantom 3500's main cabin will have a height of six feet, five inches, considerably taller than what is found on many business jets and small airliners. It will also be more spacious overall. As part of its laminar flow design, the Phantom 3500 also eschews cabin windows entirely. Instead, Otto plans to install what it calls a 'Natural Vision' system that consists of 'state-of-the-art high-definition digital displays that seamlessly integrate real-time external views.' The Phantom 3500's design is also expected to yield manufacturing benefits, including reductions in total material required for production and overall manufacturing costs. Just today, a firm called Galorath, described as 'the premier AI-powered estimation platform provider,' announced that Otto will also be using its SEER product to help produce 'structured operational intelligence to anticipate costs and streamline production efforts.' 'As we enter the next phase of aircraft development, time-to-market, quality control, and resource accuracy are critical to our success,' Obi Ndu, Otto's Chief Information and Digital Officer, said in an accompanying statement. 'Integrating Galorath's SEER platform into workflows ensures we have the right tools to combat economy-driven constraints and focus on cost, outcome predictions, and meeting design requirements, keeping us ahead of the curve with a strategic advantage.' Interestingly, in addition, 'at its estimated 8,618kg (19,000lb) MTOW [maximum takeoff weight], the Phantom 3500 sits at the top of the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Part 23 category, rather than the more-stringent Part 25 category occupied by other super-midsize types,' FlightGlobal noted as an aside in its recent interview with Touw. 'Despite the intention to certify the Phantom 3500 as a Part 23 jet, Otto will incorporate some requirements from Part 25, opening the potential to hop up to the higher weight class in the future, adding additional fuel capacity to take range out to as much as 4,300nm.' Otto has long touted the potential for its laminar flow-focused aircraft to have transformative impacts on the general aviation sector by offering improved performance at lower costs in a package that can also fly in and out of more locations. The company has previously presented these qualities as being particularly advantageous for regional charter flights along routes that would otherwise be unprofitable for large airlines to operate. With its aforementioned expected capabilities, the Phantom 3500, specifically, is poised to compete in the mid-size jet market. It could be particularly advantageous for flights between cross-U.S. city pairs like New York City and Los Angeles. It would also be capable of flying between Hawaii and the mainland United States or across the Atlantic Ocean. Potential military applications have appeared in Otto marketing materials in the past, as well. In principle, a laminar flow design like the Phantom 3500 could be very well suited to moving cargo and personnel in and out of far-flung operating locations with smaller runways. The U.S. Air Force and U.S. Marine Corps both notably envision future operations, especially during a potential high-end fight with China in the Pacific, as being heavily dependent on the ability to operate from a larger number of often more remote sites to make friendly forces harder to target and otherwise present challenges to the enemy. In those contexts, an aircraft like the Phantom 3500 could also operate as part of a hub-and-spoke logistics concept wherein larger aircraft and ships first bring personnel and materiel to larger bases for further dispersal. The high-efficiency high-altitude performance Otto is pitching could be beneficial for other military mission sets, including surveillance and reconnaissance. Last year, Aviation Week reported that Otto was working on a 'super-laminar' demonstrator aircraft for the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects (DARPA) Agency to be used in experiments to demonstrate power beaming technology that could dramatically extend the endurance of electrically-powered drones, potentially allowing them to stay aloft indefinitely. Aviation Week's story on Otto's work for DARPA included a computer-generated image showing multiple drones with tear-drop-shaped fuselages, very long and slender wings, and T-tails. Otto has also notably shown a rendering of a concept for an uncrewed derivative of the Celera 500L in the past. The range and fuel-efficiency benefits of a laminar flow-optimized design could be even more extreme in a design that does not need to support a crew, and provide that performance at a lower cost. When the Phantom 3500 actually flies, and what impact it will have on the aviation industry, remains to be seen. Otto CEO Touw's description of work on the Celera 500L as a 'very difficult labor-of-love' points to challenges already experienced along the way. Though the company is now describing that earlier aircraft as a 'technology demonstrator,' it had previously presented it as a prototype for an expected family of operational aircraft that would include a larger 1000L variant. In 2022, the company also announced plans for a 19-seat hydrogen-electric-powered version called the Celera 750L that would use ZeroAvia's ZA600 powertrain and have a maximum range of up to 1,000 nautical miles. Whether or not work related to this design, or another variant or derivatives of the Celera 500L, is still ongoing is unclear. The focus at Otto is now clearly on the significantly redesigned and now rebranded Phantom 3500, which is the only design currently featured on the company's website. Otto has said the plan is for the Phantom 3500 to fly for the first time no later than 2030, but CEO Touw said in his recent interview with FlightGlobal that the milestone could come as early as 2027. If the company is able to achieve even a decent fraction of what it is aiming for with this aircraft, it could be a major disruptor in the aviation marketplace on multiple levels. Contact the author: joe@
