Tag: USAF
US Air Force Leaders Gather for First Agility Prime eVTOL Demo
Exactly 112 years after the Wright Brothers delivered their first military aircraft, top Air Force leaders gathered with their Texas National Guard hosts and AFWERX personnel to watch the first Agility Prime ORB flight demonstration. Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr., and Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass came together to witness the...

US Air Force Leaders Gather for First Agility Prime eVTOL Demo

Exactly 112 years after the Wright Brothers delivered their first military aircraft, top Air Force leaders gathered with their Texas National Guard hosts and AFWERX personnel to watch the first Agility Prime ORB flight demonstration.
Secretary of the Air Force Barbara Barrett, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Charles Q. Brown, Jr., and Chief Master Sgt. of the Air Force JoAnne S. Bass came together to witness the advances in electric vertical takeoff and landing flight (eVTOL) at Camp Mabry, Aug. 20.
Air National Guard photo by Staff. Sgt. Sean Kornegay
The demonstration was presented by LIFT Aircraft, a Texas-based Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract recipient, as one of the first companies of its size to join the Agility Prime “Air Race to Certification.” LIFT’s Hexa is a short distance single-seater eVTOL designed to work much like shared scooter systems in urban areas do today. Users will be able to fly Hexa between landing ports in urban areas, guided by instructions from a mobile app. Hexa is designed to take off and land autonomously, making the flight experience seamless. LIFT plans on initially launching in 25 U.S citizens, and is already taking pre-sale reservations.

Read more about the technical specifications and TransportUP’s take on the LIFT Hexa in The Hangar.
The event was the first time the service had witnessed a manned eVTOL aircraft take flight under its Agility Prime program, it said on 21 August. Agility Prime is a non-traditional program seeking to accelerate the commercial market for advanced air mobility vehicles. The USAF’s initiative presents an opportunity to exchange government resources in for knowledge transfer, aerial demonstration flights, and potential buyouts of various aerial mobility companies that elect to participate.
“Agility Prime is a program with a vision of world impact,” Barrett said during the program’s launch in April 2020. “The thought of an electric vertical take-off and landing vehicle — a flying car — might seem straight out of a Hollywood movie, but by partnering today with stakeholders across industries and agencies, we can set up the United States for this aerospace phenomenon.”
In the heat of the afternoon, Matthew Chasen, LIFT chief executive officer, piloted the Hexa over the Camp Mabry parade ground, just a few miles from downtown Austin. (Air National Guard photo by Staff. Sgt. Sean Kornegay)
“We now have over fifteen of the leading aircraft manufacturers in the world applying to partner with Agility Prime, with many of them already on contract,” said Col. Nathan Diller, AFWERX director and Agility Prime lead. “This flight today marks the first of many demonstrations and near term flight tests designed to reduce the technical risk and prepare for Agility Prime fielding in 2023.”
Why it’s important:
The Agility Prime program is the flagship eVTOL program for the USAF, as an increasing number of military organizations across the world become more and more interested in applications of aerial mobility technology as supplemental (and eventually in replacement of) current mobility offerings for both manned and unmanned missions.
In addition to the USAF, the US Army is examining eVTOL aircraft as a means to resupply troops, as well as provide combat search and rescue. The autonomous flying ability of the aircraft would allow the services to keep human pilots out of danger on certain missions. USAF’s Agility Prime initiative, and the successful Lift HEXA flight demonstration, are providing excellent exposure for emerging aerial mobility technologies and manufacturers. Ultimately, this has a high potential for these new startup companies to secure new contracts across both the military and commercial sectors.
Related:
Joby and Beta Sign Prototyping Contracts for USAF’s Agility Prime Initiative
Source // USAF (AFWERX Public Affairs)
Volansi Partners with USAF on Long-Distance, Heavy Payload VTOL Drone Development
Volansi – a designer, manufacturer, and service provider for autonomous VTOL UAVs – has been awarded a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract by the United States Air Force (USAF) through the Department of the Air Force Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) Center of Excellence innovation program. At the United States Air Force’s Agility Prime Virtual Trade Show in...

Volansi Partners with USAF on Long-Distance, Heavy Payload VTOL Drone Development

Volansi – a designer, manufacturer, and service provider for autonomous VTOL UAVs – has been awarded a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract by the United States Air Force (USAF) through the Department of the Air Force Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) Center of Excellence innovation program.
At the United States Air Force’s Agility Prime Virtual Trade Show in May of this year, Volansi unveiled its VOLY M20 UAV – a new generation of dual role aircraft offering customers the ability to simultaneously carry 20 pounds of cargo and a 10 pound ISR or sensor payload. It was designed to meet the exacting requirements of commercial customers operating in remote maritime locations and military customers who require a flexible vehicle for resupply and ISR applications. The VOLY M20 has a 350-mile range, cruising at 75 mph, and more than eight hours of endurance for sensor operations.
The Phase II contract will allow Volansi to demonstrate the innovative capabilities of the long-distance, heavy-payload VOLY M20 VTOL drone.
“The VOLY M20 was designed with modularity and mission flexibility in mind,” Volansi CEO and Co-Founder, Hannan Parvizian said. “The user experience is a key pillar of this design. We incorporated all the feedback we received from our customers on the need for an easy to use, maintain, and operate aircraft that is capable of operating on both land and at sea.”

Made in the USA, the VOLY M20 utilizes a hybrid flight system that combines electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) with a fixed-wing, “pusher”-driven forward flight mode. The VOLY M20 can be configured with the customer’s choice of highly reliable heavy-fuel (JP5/JP8/Kerosene) or gasoline engines. Credit // Volansi
“We are delighted for this SBIR Phase II award and look forward to partnering with the United States Air Force Special Operations Command on this project,” said Hannan Parvizian, CEO and Co-Founder of Volansi. “Our goal is to develop technology that unburdens, equips, and increases the warfighter’s capability to successfully compete and win in any situation. We are proud to continue to contribute to the work that our brothers and sisters are doing within the United States Military.”
In a prior SBIR Phase I award, Volansi’s group 3 VTOL unmanned aerial vehicle, the VOLY C20, was successfully evaluated as an effective tool to enable resupply of the warfighter of tomorrow. Volansi’s UAVs are already in use for commercial cargo delivery projects around the world, and soon-to-begin commercial drone delivery projects launching in the United States this summer.
Why it’s important: The VTOL design of the VOLY M20 enables it to complete complex missions with minimal to zero infrastructure needs. The vehicle’s ability to land at the delivery point and return with cargo such as samples for analysis, diagnosis, or repair makes it a viable and particularly applicable product suited to the needs of the United States Air Force. Backed by the U.S. Military through both the Phase I and Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) awards, Volansi appears to have a strong lead on provisioning the next age of aerial mobility for military applications.
Related:
- USAF Agility Prime Solicitation Kicks Off
- Joby and Beta Sign Prototyping Contracts for USAF’s Agility Prime Initiative
- Volansi, Inc. Hires Former Amazon PrimeAir Co-Founder as Chief Technology Officer
Source // Volansi press release
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