AFWERX, MTSI evaluate electric vertical takeoff, landing aircraft for military applications
By Matthew Clouse
Air Force Research Laboratory Public Affairs
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AFRL) – As the sun rose over Springfield-Beckley Airport, Ohio, a quiet hum from an unusual aircraft signaled the start of another day of flight testing.
Since mid-June, experts from AFWERX, the Department of the Air Force’s innovation arm within the Air Force Research Laboratory, have been working with Beavercreek, Ohio-based defense contractor Modern Technology Solutions Inc., or MTSI, to evaluate Pivotal’s BlackFly electric vertical take-off and landing, or eVTOL, aircraft, along with other electric aircraft. This effort is part of the AFWERX Agility Prime program, which focuses on assessing the aircraft and their supporting ecosystem through an operational leasing initiative.
“We’re not just interested in the aircraft’s flying capabilities,” said Josh Lane, AFWERX flight test engineer. “We’re also looking at the infrastructure, including electric charging systems like the DANNAR battery energy storage system and the portable chargers provided by the original equipment manufacturers. We are assessing the overall flight operations in the context of Air Force and other stakeholder concepts of employment.