Rotor blown wing drone completes helicopter and airplane flight tests
NewsMarch 11, 2025
STRATFORD, Connecticut. Sikorsky flew a rotor blown wing uncrewed aerial system (UAS) in both helicopter and airplane flight modes, the company announced in a statement.
The 115-pound twin prop-rotor prototype, powered by batteries, demonstrated stability and maneuverability across various flight regimes, with the potential to scale to larger sizes using hybrid-electric propulsion, the statement reads.
Sikorsky Innovations, the company’s rapid prototyping division, developed the aircraft and completed more than 40 takeoffs and landings in January, including 30 transitions between helicopter and airplane modes, according to the statement. In horizontal flight, the aircraft reached a top cruise speed of 86 knots. Simultaneous wind tunnel tests on a full-scale model provided additional validation of flight control data, the company says.
Potential applications for the rotor blown wing UAS include search and rescue, firefighting, humanitarian response, and pipeline surveillance, while larger variants could support intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and crewed/uncrewed teaming missions. All versions will incorporate Sikorsky’s MATRIX autonomy system for navigation, the company states.
