Electra.aero Nabs $1.9M Army Contract for Electric Aircraft Testing

The manufacturer’s flagship, hybrid-electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) aircraft requires only the space of a soccer field to launch and touch down.

Jack Daleo

Thursday, April 18, 2024 at 03:54 PM ET

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A technology demonstrator of Electra’s nine-passenger, hybrid-electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) aircraft takes flight. [Courtesy: Electra.aero]

Key Takeaways:

The U.S. Army is partnering with Electra.aero, awarding a $1.9 million contract to test its hybrid-electric Short Takeoff and Landing (eSTOL) aircraft for logistics operations in contested environments.
The eSTOL aircraft, a nine-passenger hybrid-electric design, utilizes blown-lift technology to achieve extremely short takeoffs (150 feet) from spaces as small as a soccer field.
It offers significant advantages over eVTOLs, including greater payload capacity, extended range (up to 1,000 nm for the Army), lower noise, reduced fuel consumption, and is designed to certify as a fixed-wing aircraft, simplifying pilot requirements.
Electra.aero has already secured over 2,000 commercial preorders for the aircraft, with deliveries anticipated to begin in 2028.

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The U.S. Army will soon begin experimenting with an electric aircraft that needs only a soccer field-sized space to take off and land.

The Army on Thursday awarded a $1.9 million Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to Electra.aero, the manufacturer of a nine-passenger, hybrid-electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) design, to perform powered wind tunnel testing.