It was great to sit down with the @techandflight podcast to talk about autonomous aerial cargo and why the way we do military logistics has to change. There is no way we can continue to do logistics in the ways of the past.
We built the @elroyair Chaparral to solve this problem.
“The backbone of every military operation is logistics."
Early on, Elroy Air made three contrarian bets: to focus on transporting cargo rather than passengers, to build a hybrid-electric aircraft, and to make the aircraft autonomous with no pilot on board. At the time, most of the industry was betting the other way.
Our CEO Dr. Andrew Clare joined The Vertical Space podcast to talk about how those early bets paid off, with the industry following our lead and how demand from defense and commercial customers is proving autonomous cargo is the market that will scale first.
Give it a listen. @AS_Clare@techandflight
#Chaparral #cargodrone #logistics
https://t.co/y0Ej1IW5ZO
We’re scaling production to meet rising demand across both commercial and defense. @tectonicdefense has the story on our path to public markets and getting Chaparral into the hands of warfighters faster.
https://t.co/WXuezTaqZy
Elroy Air is proud to announce that it will become a publicly traded company through a business combination with Inflection Point Acquisition Corp VII. As drone dominance quickly becomes a national strategic priority, we will use this opportunity and additional capital to rapidly scale our production of Chaparral, enabling the opportunity to define the middle-mile logistics market, as well as the future of autonomous flight and drone delivery. As a public company, we will continue to lead the next great logistics revolution of autonomous flight and deliver across the defense, commercial and rapid response markets.
You can read more at our official announcement here: https://t.co/DpEp4lrNiW
Chaparral is an autonomous heavy-cargo drone that carries upwards of 500 pounds of cargo and has a maximum range of 450 miles. Because it takes off and lands vertically, it operates without needing runways or airports. Its hybrid-electric powertrain delivers that range with rapid refueling and no requirement for charging infrastructure. The aircraft flies autonomously - without a pilot onboard, and its modular pods can be reconfigured in minutes to carry different payloads across different missions. #Chaparral #Cargodrone #Defensetech
Proud to be the only purpose-built heavy payload cargo drone selected for the eIPP. The FAA is moving quickly to support the program, which will first unlock commercial, revenue-generating cargo operations prior to passenger operations. Read more: https://t.co/h41rSDKLjf
Chaparral was at Camp Atterbury earlier this month for T-REX 26-2 to be stress-tested in real conditions, alongside real operators, with real mission requirements. Here’s what happened.
#Chaparral#Defensetech#TREX
"Anyone who has maintained a Black Hawk or Chinook will immediately see it. Chaparral is just easier to maintain. Fewer mechanical systems and fewer people required. That means less time on the ground and more time on the mission." - @USArmy Veteran Joe Lovotti
Elroy Air is at T-REX 26-2 and Chaparral is already flying! Hosted by the OUSW R&E, T-REX is designed to accelerate the speed of tech adoption and aggressively fill capability gaps across the Joint Force. Thank you @innationalguard & Camp Atterbury for hosting us! #OUSWRE
Chaparral has been putting in the work at our flight test facility completing our latest autonomous flight campaign — and now it's time to take to new skies. New places, new airspaces. Stay tuned!
#Chaparral#eVTOL#cargodrone
Great article by @EdGarsten in @Forbes about the eIPP and what it means for the industry. Ed interviewed leaders from selected companies including Elroy Air, the only OEM chosen with a purpose-built heavy payload cargo drone. https://t.co/h22iOI4syX
#Chaparral#cargodrone#eIPP
We're proud to welcome Office of Strategic Capital Founder Dr. Jason Rathje to our Defense Advisory Board. Read the full announcement: https://t.co/AiWnB7j6pE
Elroy Air was the only OEM with a purpose-built, heavy-payload cargo drone selected for the @USDOT eIPP. Read about how Chaparral will provide autonomous aerial cargo delivery in the Gulf Coast alongside our partner @Bristow_Group. https://t.co/8wmwING6xw
#eVTOL#Chaparral
Elroy Air was selected by @USDOT for the eVTOL Integration Pilot Program. We’ll work alongside @Bristow_Group to put Chaparral to work delivering cargo in and around the Gulf area & to energy industry locations in Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi. https://t.co/sl37DMSIjM
I've received several notes tonight from early members of the Model X team bidding adieu to program that showed us all what we were capable of. Most of them have moved on, but the bond and the memories are strong.
The Model X was a car that shouldn’t have worked, built by a team that refused to acknowledge that. This team obsessed over the panoramic glass that opened the sky, the HVAC system that shut out the pollutants, and the falcon doors that danced like ballerinas. It's been called a Fabergé egg. Maybe it is. But its performance, its safety, and its sheer audacity will always be a point of pride for those who spent thousands of early mornings and late nights bringing it to life.
It remains one of the defining honors of my career to have worked with the Model X team. Congratulations to you all on an extraordinary car and a great run.
We’re proud to announce that we’ve signed an initial agreement with Barq Group to set up a $200M joint venture for Chaparral manufacturing and services in Abu Dhabi. Read more: https://t.co/vpWTmAfgpZ
At Kratos, our commitment to readiness and affordability positions us as an industry leader in the rapid development, production, and delivery of unmanned aerial systems. Our partnership with Elroy Air leverages our established manufacturing capabilities to bring the Chaparral drone to market at scale. We are focused on delivering technologies that meet the evolving needs of our partners and clients for next-generation drone production. #KratosDefense #DefenseInnovation #UAV #Chaparral #cargodrone
Read more: https://t.co/4t2pexxsV0
We’re proud to announce a major milestone for Elroy Air: our Chaparral aircraft has successfully transitioned from vertical takeoff to 70mph wingborne flight.
To our team, partners, and supporters, thank you! Onward and upward!
Chaparral reached a new milestone with an autonomous flight at 35+ mph forward speed and 130+ feet altitude! Watch as we switch seamlessly back and forth between VTOL and forward flight modes. We’re getting closer and closer to transition to wingborne flight. Stay tuned!