Flying-vehicle startup signs deal with Air Force

iv class="columns small-12 single-post-content_text-container">

Flying vehicle company Pivotal has signed a two-year deal with the U.S. Air Force to accelerate the testing and system verification of its eVTOL (electric vertical takeoff and landing) vehicle.

The contract gives Pivotal access to test facilities, expert resources and numerous sites in restricted airspace.

The Pivotal Helix is a tilt aircraft with eight fixed rotors and tandem wings. It can emergency land on water and fly with maximum wind of 20 miles per hour.

Testing under the Air Force AFWERX Agility Prime program is planned using the Pivotal Helix platform.

“This OTA (Other Transaction Authority) Contract with the USAF is our first direct-to-government contract and only our second DOD-related transaction,” said Ken Karklin, Pivotal CEO. “We see this as a strong vote of support for the mission potential of Pivotal’s technology. Not only are we going to advance the capabilities of our patented tilt-aircraft architecture through this relationship, we are going to accelerate the establishment of the Helix’s airworthiness and see its utility demonstrated in a range defense of missions.”

Before CES in Las Vegas earlier this year, Pivotal displayed its electric aerial vehicle (EAV) for the media.

To read the complete article and view a related video, visit IoT World Today.