Elroy Air expands partnership with US Air Force to advance its Chaparral VTOL platform to acquisitions
Elroy Air, an aerospace and logistics company developing Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) aerial cargo systems, announced that it has won a Phase 3 Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract with Agility Prime, a non-traditional program in the US Air Force seeking to accelerate the commercial market for advanced air mobility vehicles. The goals of this new contract are to fund technical demonstrations and performance validations including flights of its next-generation Chaparral aircraft to transition the Chaparral program to acquisitions by the Air Force.
David Merrill, CEO of Elroy Air said:
“We are enthusiastic to expand our existing partnership with the US Air Force. The Agility Prime program has a mandate to field a substantial fleet of electric and hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft systems in the next three years, to address operational situations that are challenging with today’s aircraft. Elroy Air’s Chaparral will enable a new concept of operations (CONOPS) for flying cargo and observation equipment in difficult-to-access areas. These systems will make ultra-responsive logistics possible, transforming the capabilities of the supply chain for the Air Force’s defense and humanitarian aid missions. The Elroy Air team is leading the industry with our development of the Chaparral system.”
Kofi Asante, Head of Strategy & Business Development said:
“The same product development effort that is required to build a high-performing aerial cargo system for the commercial logistics sector will result in a system that can be readily put to use by the Air Force. Our partnership with the Air Force will help us optimize our system to serve life-critical missions globally. In the commercial market, our customers are signing up to use the Chaparral for express parcel transport, humanitarian aid, and pharmaceutical and disaster relief missions. All of these scenarios require a high level of reliability, flexibility, and throughput to ensure that critical supplies and goods reach the communities where they are needed.”
Chaparral demonstrator aircraft at McMillan Airfield — Camp Roberts CA.
Elroy Air is a leader in the recent cohort of companies developing unmanned VTOL systems for aerial mobility. Unique to Elroy Air’s Chaparral platform is its deployment of specialized systems for cargo, including a hybrid-electric powertrain enabling long range deliveries, and automated cargo-handling for rapid and unattended loading and unloading. These developments are a response to a global pilot shortage and growing demand for more flexible and rapid logistics capabilities for the company’s government and commercial customers.
Major John “Wasp” Tekell, deputy of Agility Prime and point of contact for Elroy Air’s new contract said:
“We are thrilled to be working with Elroy Air to help validate the Chaparral platform value and capability to the US Air Force. The Air Force supports a wide range of military and humanitarian missions, and our objectives can often be difficult or dangerous to accomplish with manned aircraft. We have a mandate to field an initial operational capability by 2023 of the next generation of unmanned VTOL aerial systems. Elroy Air typifies the kind of innovative company Agility Prime is partnering with, and they are already well down the path in developing a system that we believe can meet both commercial and government needs. With this partnership we look forward to working with the Elroy Air team to evaluate Chaparral for Air Force use cases, while the Elroy Air team keeps focused on developing a dual-use system — it’s a win-win-win situation for the company, the Air Force, and the nation.”
Elroy Air will be focused on operational test and evaluation (OT&E) of its platform and subsystems. The contract is a Phase III SBIR award, which intends to knock down any remaining barriers to adoption and acquisition of Chaparral for use by the US Air Force. The contract also opens a channel for additional US Government business with Elroy Air.
