Recommendation:
Vita Inclinata Technologies, Inc, a US aerospace company, has developed and commercialized innovative technology that leverages advancements in high pressure duct fans, batteries, sensors, Artificial Intelligence (AI), and 3D printing. Essentially, vectored thrust from highspeed fans eliminates spin, swing, and sway of hoist loads, eliminating the need to use taglines for recoveries. Their first product is the Vita Rescue System Litter Attachment (VRS-LA), which is compact, lightweight, aircraft agnostic, and provides semi-autonomous, remote controlled stability at the touch of a button, making it extremely easy to integrate into current aircraft operations. The system can be easily strapped directly to any form of rescue litter (Skedco, Stokes, rescue bag) or hard mounted directly to a Stokes litter or Rescue Basket. Because it uses vectored thrust technology, it allows for high-speed dynamic hoisting and hands-free operations at airspeeds of 80+ knots. The US Army Aeromedical Research Lab (USAARL) and US Air Force Reserve and Air National Guard Test Center (AATC) are each conducting environmental and airworthiness testing, sharing common test data to accelerate test timelines and enable rapid fielding. After initial flight at Ft Rucker, AL in December 2020, a test airworthiness authorization enabled a series of “Soldier Touchpoints” on Army Guard HH-60 and UH-72 helicopters in California, Oklahoma, Montana, Nevada, Virginia, South Carolina, and Louisiana. This broad range of environments and viewpoints enabled USAARL to collect additional test information and soldier input on applicability, need, and design of the product, leading to Vita’s inclusion at Army Futures Command’s Project Convergence 21 (PC21). This “real world” experimentation in the harsh environment of Yuma Proving Grounds validated the rugged design and showcased that the system “allows a Soldier to be extracted out of the operational environment dynamically, more quickly and at less risk” said Jason Gerstner, a U.S. Army Aeromedical Research Laboratory field systems branch chief who is flying an HH-60M Black Hawk at Project Convergence 2021 as part of new medevac capabilities testing.