PARIS—Lockheed Martin’s secretive Skunk Works unit is exploring a hybrid-electric aircraft designed to take off at the speed of a car from runways, grass fields, or any unimproved surface.
That aircraft would be Virginia-based Electra’s EL9, which the company is designing as an ultra short takeoff and landing (“Ultra-STOL”) model with just 150 feet required for takeoff and landing. At the Paris Air Show on Thursday, Electra and Skunk Works signed a memorandum of understanding to accelerate the concept’s development—and, potentially, land it customers within the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).
“The EL9’s ultra-STOL and hybrid endurance capabilities provide a credible solution to emerging military and regional mobility demands, particularly across the Indo-Pacific and other contested environments where access, dispersion and resilience are operational imperatives,” a Lockheed Martin spokesperson told FLYING. “The collaboration provides a path forward toward accelerated flight test, missionized variants and more.”
Skunk Works has existed since at least the 1940s and is responsible for some of Lockheed’s most cutting-edge designs, such as the tremendously popular F-35 Lighting II. Most of its projects and capabilities are kept under wraps—about 85 percent of its work is classified and carried out secretly, per its website.
Lockheed has been a strategic partner of Electra’s since 2022, when its investment arm led the developer’s Series A funding round. That money supported the maiden test flight of Electra’s EL-2 Goldfinch demonstrator in 2023. The Virginia-based company is targeting EL9 test flights in 2027 and entry into service before the end of the decade.
The MOU with SkunkWorks aims to accelerate that timeline. Per Electra, the partners will focus on “areas including digital engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, sustainment, and global business development.”
They will also target formal, funded acquisition programs within the DOD. Electra has already received plenty of military interest, securing development and testing contracts with the U.S. Army, Navy, and Air Force, which got its hands on the Goldfinch for the first time in September.
It has also been tapped by NASA to develop the technology for a new generation of all-electric commercial airliners. Former NASA chief Bill Nelson even took the Goldfinch for a spin in December.
That interest is driven by a few key features. The EL9 makes use of a unique blown-lift technology, which is what enables takeoffs at car-like speeds from soccer field-sized areas. Electric motors blow air over the wings and large flaps, directing it toward the ground to give an extra boost. With the smaller Goldfinch, it has achieved a 170-foot runway takeoff and 300-foot takeoff from a grass field. That flexibility could be attractive for military operations previously accessible only to helicopters.
The military is studying a handful of electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) designs as well. But those models are limited by their electric batteries, which have a fraction of the energy density of fuel. Electra’s hybrid powertrain comprises four batteries and a Safran 600-kilowatt turbogenerator, which extends its range to about 1,000 nm—far longer than an eVTOL. In flight, the turbogenerator is used to recharge the batteries, eliminating the need for electric infrastructure on the ground. It can also fly in a full-electric configuration for reduced noise.
The aircraft has capacity for nine passengers plus 50 pounds of luggage each, or up to 3,000 pounds of cargo, with a fully loaded range of 330 nm. For the military use case, Electra says it can carry up to 1,000 pounds over 1,000 nm.
Still, the EL9 is slower than most military aircraft, with a cruise speed around 175 knots. Its closest comparison may be the U-28A Draco, which cruises at about 220 knots and can cover 1,500 nm. The Draco was introduced by the military in 2006 for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR).
Electra says all of the EL9’s features come with the “safety, cost and range benefits of a fixed-wing aircraft.” The Air Force has described it as a potential game-changer for military logistics and airlift.
“Its hybrid-electric propulsion system provides extended range and endurance, making it suitable for Agile Combat Employment [ACE] missions in austere locations with compromised or nonexistent runways,” Jacob Wilson, who leads the Agility Prime division of the Air Force’s AFWERX innovation arm, said in September.
The ACE concept involves shifting away from large overseas hubs to smaller, dispersed bases, aided by a fleet of aircraft to move and support personnel.
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