GRYPHON is a design for a next generation subsonic passenger aircraft meeting NASAs N+2 goals. These goals include a 32-42 dB reduction in noise, 80% reduction in NOx emissions, and a 50-60% reduction in fuel consumption. The GRYPHON achieves these goals through technological developments in almost all flight systems, but still remains a plausible design to be built in the projected development window.
Many of these goals are reached through the use of a Turboelectric Distributed Propulsion (TeDP) system. This separates the power generation by gas turbine from the propulsion by ducted fans. Instead of the turbines creating propulsion through combustion directly, fully superconducting turbogenerators produce electrical power which is used to power fully superconducting synchronous motor propulsors and auxiliary electronics. Power is provided by two 8 MW generators, and thrust is supplied by 15 850 kW motors.
The design won first place in the 2016-2017 NASA Aeronautics University Design Challenge, in the Low Noise Subsonic category.