The story
In the early 1980s two US Army aviators, Jim Kreutz and Milo Burroughs, studied a low-cost battlefield attack aircraft, and Burt Rutan's Scaled Composites built it as the Model 151 ARES, for Agile Responsive Effective Support. It first flew on 19 February 1990: a canard jet built mostly of fibreglass composite, with a single JT15D turbofan and a 25 mm GAU-12/U rotary cannon in the right side of the nose. No military bought it. It went into storage at Mojave in 2000, flew again in 2008, and has since worked as a test bed for sensors, communications and avionics. Only one exists, N151SC, and it was seen flying near Mojave in October 2024.
The engine intake is on the left of the nose and the cannon on the right, so the engine does not swallow the gun's exhaust gases when it fires.
Quick answers
How do you identify a ARES?
A small jet with a canard foreplane behind the cockpit, a swept main wing set well aft, and twin fins on booms. The intake is a single scoop on the left side of the nose. Mojave, California is home.
What does a ARES sound like?
A single small turbofan: a light, smooth jet whine.
How fast is the ARES?
Top speed is 405 kts.
How many people does the ARES carry?
Typical configuration: Single pilot; 25 mm GAU-12/U rotary cannon.
How far can the ARES fly?
Range is about 600 nmi (combat).
How big is the ARES?
It is 29 ft 5 in long and 35 ft 0 in across the wings.
When did the ARES first fly?
Its first flight was in 1990.
How many ARESs have been built?
1 built.
How rare is a ARES in Bogey?
RARE. A good day. Most spotters go weeks between sightings of something this rare. Your first ARES catch is worth 250 points.
