Rotorcraft
Robinson Expands into Uncrewed VTOL Market
New division encompasses heavy-lift drones and uncrewed helicopters
Robinson booth Verticon 2026
Robinson Helicopter unveiled the Turbinеtruck, an uncrewed variant of the R66, at Verticon 2026. © Mariano Rosales/AIN

Yesterday at the Verticon show in Atlanta, Robinson Helicopter president and CEO David Smith unveiled Robinson Unmanned, the company’s new business unit that includes its Ascent drones and uncrewed versions of the R44 and R66 helicopters. The new unit’s president is Ascent AeroSystems president Paul Fermo.

“[Robinson Unmanned] could easily be bigger than all of our heritage businesses combined,” Smith said. There is a need for defense products at commercial costs, he added, “and built by a sustainable business, not a VC-backed money-losing business. We stand alone in that we are the only ones that can build incredibly [fast] at aerospace quality and automotive scale.”