I recently mentioned Electra’s EL9 Ultra Short hybrid-electric aircraft, which purports to be a fixed-wing airplane that delivers the access of a helicopter with 100 times less noise, 70% lower cost, improved safety, and dramatically reduced emissions. The EL9 has potential for both civil and defense applications:
On the defense side, the EL9 could serve an important role in tactical last leg logistics, because it could carry cargo and then land in austere conditions or on nontraditional runway surfaces. Plus, Allen says, Electra’s aircraft can serve as a power source once on the ground.
“This airplane flies in, it lands, it’s your generator. You can charge drones from it. You can charge your communications gear,” he says. “It’s the Amazon Sprinter van for getting fuel and munitions to distributed operating bases across large ranges where you don’t have access, easy access to runways, to drop in big cargo planes.” (A growing number of Amazon’s vans are now electric, thanks to a partnership with Rivian to bring 100,000 electric delivery vehicles to roads by 2030.)