AFWERX Agility Prime partner, Moog Aircraft Group, has created a prototype electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle (eVTOL), the SureFly S250, which seeks to explore the potential of eVTOL utility in unmanned flight applications.
With this development, the US Air Force will be able to test for mission utility, costs, risks, and technical maturity as the project, which aims to accelerate the commercial market for advanced air mobility vehicles, progresses.
“Moog brings years of experience in design and manufacturing systems for applications in the aerospace and defense industry,” said Darshan Divakaran, Program Manager, Agility Prime. “As full battery electric propulsion systems still have limitations, with the SureFly eVTOL aircraft, the Air Force will get a more in-depth understanding of hybrid electric power system technology and also Moog’s aircraft control systems.”
Moog’s SureFly S250 vehicle is a two-seat all-electric multi-rotor vehicle which can fly manned or unmanned utilizing eight independent propulsion motors as its flight controls. The vehicle will be modified to a hybrid power electric system. The Air Force is focusing its support of the project into vehicle aerodynamics, pilot interfaces, and system safety, as well airworthiness support for unmanned operations.
Completing the military airworthiness process through the Air Force will allow the SureFly S250 to continue flight test experimentation at an UAS test site in Springfield, Ohio later this year.
“Moog is very pleased to be working with AFWERX in their Agility Prime program to accelerate the maturation of our SureFly vehicle,” said Paul Stoelting, Director of Innovation at Moog. “The SureFly, and its other autonomous eVTOL derivatives, will provide ideal solutions for missions ranging from battlefield resupply and casualty evacuation to humanitarian disaster response and distributed logistics.”
