Electra receives $4.7m USAF contract to fund acoustic flight testing for EL9 with eye toward special operations
The hybrid-electric, blown-lift transport aircraft is billed as an ‘ultra-short’ take-off and landing design, needing only 45m of runway space.
US aviation start-up Electra has received a $4.7 million research and development contract from the US Air Force to support ground and flight testing for the company’s EL9 hybrid-electric transport aircraft.
Electra Defense announced the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) contract, officially known as an innovative capabilities opening (ICO), on 9 November. The funds will be used to advance development of the EL9 and gather performance data to help the USAF “assess the potential of next-generation ultra-short takeoff and landing (Ultra-STOL) aircraft for military operations”, the company says.
“The effort will also examine how hybrid-electric aviation can expand operational access, strengthen distributed logistics, and support the Air Force’s Agile Combat Employment (ACE) doctrine,” Electra says.
Specifically, Electra will complete a series of technical evaluations focused on aircraft performance, hybrid-electric propulsion system functionality, and operational effectiveness using a preproduction EL9 on the ground. Additionally, the company will complete acoustic flight testing to characterise the ability of the aircraft to conduct low-audio, battery-only ingress and egress for special operations missions.
A rendering of the militarised EL9 provided by Electra shows a number of changes from the commercial design, most notably the addition of an aerial refuelling probe above the cockpit on the centreline fuselage. The military EL9 also eschews Electra’s signature bright yellow livery in favour of a subdued grey paint scheme.
‘Helicopter-style’ flight
The EL9 will use a ‘blown-lift’ configuration wherein the eight propellers blow air over the aircraft’s high wing in a manner that increases lift at lower airspeeds. Power comes from a Safran Helicopter Engines TG600 turbogenerator feeding eight Evolito electric motors.
Electra is flying the smaller EL2 Goldfinch demonstrator using the blown-lift technology, which allows the EL2 to take off and land with as little as 45m (150ft) of runway – what Electra calls “helicopter-style” flight.
The company recently demonstrated that ability in New York City, with the EL2 landing and taking off from the a heliport in Lower Manhattan.
Electra landed the EL2 Goldfinch at a heliport on New York’s Hudson River in October 2026. Source: Electra
The larger EL9 will build on the EL2, adapting the hybrid-electric propulsion and blown-lift technology developed for the Goldfinch onto a nine-passenger production aircraft.
On the military side, Electra is positioning the EL9 as a “last tactical leg” solution for logistics and airlift — the type of mission currently filled by helicopters or ground vehicles.
Donn Yates, the general manager of Electra Defense and former Boeing F-15E squadron commander, says Electra’s hybrid-electric aircraft technology can address “some of the air force’s most pressing operational challenges”.
“Future military operations will demand aircraft that can operate with greater flexibility, access more locations, and reduce the logistical burden on deployed forces,” Yates says. “The combination of hybrid-electric power, distributed propulsion, and ultra-short takeoff and landing capability offers a fundamentally discriminating approach to tactical mobility.
The recent AFRL funding will help Electra “quantify those advantages and demonstrate their potential value” to the USAF, Yates adds.
Electra is targeting service entry in 2030 for the EL9, with plans to assemble the aircraft at a new facility in Springfield, Ohio, that will eventually be capable of supporting an annual output of 800 units.
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