Experts from AFWERX, the Department of the Air Force’s innovation arm within the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), have been working with Ohio-based defense contractor Modern Technology Solutions Inc. (MTSI), to evaluate Pivotal’s BlackFly electric vertical take-off and landing, or eVTOL, aircraft, along with other electric aircraft.

This effort is part of the AFWERX Agility Prime program, which focuses on assessing the aircraft and their supporting ecosystem through an operational leasing initiative.

“We’re not just interested in the aircraft’s flying capabilities,” said Josh Lane, AFWERX flight test engineer. “We’re also looking at the infrastructure, including electric charging systems like the DANNAR battery energy storage system and the portable chargers provided by the original equipment manufacturers. We are assessing the overall flight operations in the context of Air Force and other stakeholder concepts of employment.”

AFWERX’s mission is to accelerate innovative and emerging technologies toward capabilities that can be transitioned to the warfighter. The Agility Prime program focuses on transformative vertical lift technologies, such as the BlackFly, which explores different electric and hybrid vehicles for various mission sets.

The aircraft are being tested in an unmanned configuration to better assess their capabilities and potential military applications.

“We’re exploring a range of military-type use cases, from logistics and material transport to emergency response and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions,” said Jacob Wilson, AFWERX Agility Prime acting branch chief. “Our goal is to accelerate the commercial adoption of these innovations, particularly in the U.S., to ensure a strong industrial base of these technologies and transition the most suitable among them to the warfighter.”