Moog Aircraft Group Builds eVTOL Prototype for U.S.A.F.’s Flying Cars Project

Moog Aircraft Group has created prototype electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle (eVTOL) ‘SureFly S25’ for the U.S. Air Force’s Agility Prime project that seeks to develop advanced air mobility vehicles or “flying cars.”

Agility Prime is an initiative of AFWERX, an Air Force technology incubator launched in 2017.

Moog’s SureFly S250 vehicle is a two-seat all-electric multi-rotor vehicle which can fly manned or unmanned utilizing eight independent propulsion motors as its flight controls. The vehicle will be modified to a hybrid power electric system. The Air Force is focusing its support of the project into vehicle aerodynamics, pilot interfaces, and system safety, as well airworthiness support for unmanned operations.

“With this development, the U.S. Air Force will be able to test for mission utility, costs, risks, and technical maturity as the project progresses,” the Air Force said announcing the development of SureFly S25.

“As full battery electric propulsion systems still have limitations, with the SureFly eVTOL aircraft, the Air Force will get a more in-depth understanding of hybrid electric power system technology and also Moog’s aircraft control systems,” said Darshan Divakaran, Program Manager, Agility Prime.

Completing the military airworthiness process through the Air Force will allow the SureFly S250 to continue flight test experimentation at an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) test site in Springfield, Ohio later this year.

“Moog is very pleased to be working with AFWERX in their Agility Prime program to accelerate the maturation of our SureFly vehicle,” said Paul Stoelting, Director of Innovation at Moog. “The SureFly, and its other autonomous eVTOL derivatives, will provide ideal solutions for missions ranging from battlefield resupply and casualty evacuation to humanitarian disaster response and distributed logistics.”