Major defense contractor Boeing displayed several very impressive advanced technologies at the annual Airlift/Tanker Association convention in Orlando last fall...
Following on the (eventual) success of the V-22 Osprey tiltrotor aircraft, Boeing is currently developing a quad-tiltrotor design--that is, a VTOL aircraft with four rotating turboprop engines that convert from helicopter to airplane mode. The Boeing QuadTiltRotor was recently awarded a contract for the US military's Joint Heavy Airlift study. Replace those turboprops with turbofans and we're getting close to the flying "Hunter-Killer" design from T2...
Perhaps the most impressive technology showcased by Boeing was its work in pulse jet lift thrusters. This system groups together a number of very small, simple & highly efficient pulse jet engines to provide powerful, controllable & fault-tolerant VTOL ability. Boeing claims to have overcome the poor fuel economy issues that have plagued pulse jets since their first principal use in the V-1 rocket. Future applications include the Light Aerial Multi-purpose Vehicle (LAMV) concept, in which a (patented) pulsejet ejector thrust augmentor provides VTOL capability, while traditional jet engines allow for standard flight like an ordinary fixed-wing aircraft. Scale it down a bit, and perhaps we'll all be riding hoverboards someday...
Not shown at the A/TA Convention but prominent on the Boeing Integrated Defense Systems website is the A160 Hummingbird helicopter UAV. The Hummingbird's first test flight was in 2002 and is currently in development under contract with DARPA.
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