- Elroy Air, an aerospace and logistics company, has developed an autonomous hybrid VTOL aircraft for cargo transport and delivery.
- The aircraft has a payload of 250 to 500 pounds and a range of 300 miles.
- It’s targeted towards three applications: commercial, humanitarian aid, and military.
- The first system will launch in 2020, and the company is hoping to start using the product with its partners by 2021.
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Elroy Air has developed a hybrid-electric autonomous vertical take-off and landing aircraft for cargo transport and delivery that doesn’t require an airport.
The aerospace and logistics company — with a team of fewer than 20 people — raised $9.2 million from investors, Forbes reported. And on August 28, it completed its first successful test flight with a 1,125-pound VTOL named Chapparel that flew up 10 feet for 64 seconds before safely landing.
Elroy says its aircraft can have multiple applications, including commercial, military, and humanitarian aid. In terms of commercial use, the aircraft can deliver packages faster than a truck because it avoids car traffic. This idea also applies to humanitarian aid and military use as the plane can “self-deploy” to inaccessible locations.
For example, the autonomous VTOL can deliver essential items like food, water, and supplies, rapidly following a natural disaster that may have made the land inaccessible via car.
“We’re exploring markets in a number of countries that have either challenging infrastructure, rural environments, or even islands for us to be able to play a critical part in their supply chain,” Elroy Air’s head of business development and strategy Kofi Asante told Business Insider.
Keep scrolling to learn more about Elroy Air, and to see its first successful autonomous test flight:
