Nichols Martin
The U.S. Air Force has given Kitty Hawk the green light to move forward with USAF-directed flight testing of the Heaviside electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft.
The airworthiness approval brings Heaviside to its next phase of test flights, where the aircraft will demonstrate functions for both commercial and military applications, the Air Force Research Laboratory said Friday.
Engineers from AFRL and various military officers will supervise these tests under USAF’s airworthiness approval.
Kitty Hawk develops Heaviside as part of the AFWERX innovation program’s Agility Prime effort, which seeks to deliver air mobility technologies through non-traditional contracting methods. Agility Prime aims to eventually make flying cars and commercial air vehicles a reality.
“This not only unlocks the opportunity to begin Air Force-directed flight tests, but it also shows the high level of maturity of this technology and the high level of maturity of Agility Prime partner companies like Kitty Hawk,” said Col. Nathan Diller, AFWERX director.
