Mayman Aerospace Speeder Air Utility Car

U.S. Air Drive AFWERX Agility Prime Initiative Grants Mayman Aerospace $1.25M in Funding for improvement of Speeder Air Utility Car, an extremely compact VTOL.

by DRONELIFE Employees Author Ian M Crosby

Yesterday, world chief in vertical take-off and touchdown (VTOL) know-how Mayman Aerospace introduced its acquisition of US$1.25 million in funding from the AFWERX Agility Prime initiative to help within the additional improvement of the Speeder AUV (Air Utility Car).

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Agility Prime places the U.S. Air Drive in touch with corporations creating VTOL platforms, and collaborates with them to ascertain new courses of air mobility programs. AFWERX’s funding demonstrates that the extremely adaptable Speeder AUV is a decisive match for air forces and associated army branches.

Able to shifting 600lb+ of payload at 500mph, Speeder is uniquely suited to contested logistics missions, delivering important materiel and help in lively army theatres. Moreover, missions geared toward extending survivability that require a mixture of velocity, accuracy and immediacy will be supported by the AUV. Easy to function in autonomous, distant, or piloted modes, Speeder flight operations will be simply dealt with within the discipline and the plane quickly deployed to fulfill rapid mission wants.  The platform is scalable – from as small as a suitcase to the dimensions of a small automobile – transportable in a pick-up truck, and requires minimal discipline help, all of which makes it engaging to particular forces operators.

“Speeder is a disruptive know-how that’s altering the best way we take into consideration small VTOL plane. It has unimaginable capabilities and is completely suited to complicated, demanding and sometimes harmful DOD contested logistics missions,” mentioned Mayman Aerospace CEO and Founder David Mayman. “We’re honored {that a} U.S. Air Drive company acknowledges our know-how and understands the inherent worth an AUV can convey to army forces. With the AFWERX funding we’re even higher positioned to ship and certify Speeder for army necessities throughout the subsequent eighteen months.”

With a minimal floor footprint in comparison with a helicopter, Speeder can also be considerably extra simple and inexpensive to acquire and function. Speeder shortly transports heavy payloads over a major vary, and will be flown both underneath full management with vectored-engine thrust, or with quick-fit aerodynamic surfaces for longer missions. The turbine-powered AUV forgoes the restrictions imposed by battery applied sciences, and will be simply refueled from the sphere with Jet A-1, SAF or diesel. The mixture of its small measurement, high-speed and low-altitude flight traits end in a tough goal for small arms, MANPADS and IADS, circumventing the vulnerabilities of rotary-wing and different transport property. “We welcome Mayman Aerospace to this system,” mentioned AFWERX Program Director, Lt. Col. Nathan P. Diller. “We’re happy to be supporting the event and testing of their plane and look ahead to the outcomes.”

Two Speeder prototypes have already accomplished preliminary tethered flight trials, with a 3rd at present underway.  This latest prototype, the P2, is ready to be configured with 4 or eight engines and is predicted to obtain FAA Experimental certification to fly off-tether by the tip of the yr.

In anticipation of excessive demand because of vital army and particular missions curiosity, Mayman Aerospace has began accepting letters of intent and pre-orders for Speeder. Mayman and his workforce collaborated alongside Matter Labs to win the direct to Part II SBIR, (Small Enterprise Innovation Analysis) grant.

Learn extra about AFWERX and Agility Prime tasks:

Ian attended Dominican College of California, the place he obtained a BA in English in 2019. With a lifelong ardour for writing and storytelling and a eager curiosity in know-how, he’s now contributing to DroneLife as a employees author.