Lithuanian Start-up Airvolve Takes New Approach to Emergency Air Mobility | Aviation International News

Lithuanian Start-up Takes New Approach to Emergency Air Mobility

Evacuation of Ukrainian troops from Mariupol inspired efforts to "reinvent helicopters"

Airvolve's air vehicle uses horizontal axis rotors — Airvolve's optionally-piloted, hybrid-electric air vehicle features horizontal axis rotors.

By Charles Alcock • Managing Editor

February 11, 2025

Lithuanian start-up Airvolve is developing what it believes will be a cost-effective alternative to both existing helicopters and larger uncrewed aircraft in military applications including logistics and casualty evacuation. This year, the company aims to build a full-scale working prototype for a hybrid-electric aircraft to demonstrate to partners and prospective operators from several European countries including Ukraine, Greece and Poland, as well as Lithuania’s armed forces.

According to co-founder and CEO Donatas Gendvilas, emergencies such as the evacuation of Ukrainian troops from the besieged city of Mariupol and fires threatening communities around the Mediterranean Sea, have prompted a rethink around the type of aircraft best suited to respond. He told AIN that some of the agencies Airvolve has been in discussions with “have realised that helicopters are history now,” in part because they can be destroyed by shoulder-launched missiles at low cost.

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