Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky unit (Booth C1020) is getting into the eVTOL race in a big way. It announced plans on Tuesday to partner with GE to develop “HEX,” a fully-autonomous, hybrid-electric demonstrator eVTOL prototype. The company expects the uncrewed aircraft to fly by 2026 or 2027, have a maximum weight of more than 7,000 pounds, and a range of greater than 500 nm. The prototype would serve as a flying testbed to evaluate large aircraft design and novel propulsion and control architectures for sustained hover. Igor Cherepinsky, director of Sikorsky’s innovations and rapid prototyping group, will lead the project.
For HEX, GE will combine its CT7 turboshaft engine with a 1 MW-class generator and associated power electronics, building on hybrid propulsion systems it is already developing for NASA and the U.S. Army. The aircraft will use Sikorsky’s Matrix autonomy flight control system and Sikorsky will design, build, and system integrate the aircraft. The company envisions HEX spawning an entire family of eVTOLs scaled to carry passengers and payload for both the civil and military markets.
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