Writer

Charlotte Bailey

Vermont-based electric aircraft developer Beta Technologies debuted a full-scale example of the autonomous, defense-specific variant of its Alia 250 eVTOL aircraft&nbsp;on Monday at the Farnborough International Airshow. Dubbed MV250, the hybrid-electric aircraft is the latest uncrewed type to adopt Sikorsky's Matrix autonomy suite—technology also found on the Sikorsky S-70UAS U-Hawk, the Nomad UAS, and the optionally piloted Black Hawk.
The Alia MV250 builds on what Beta terms the “simplicity and common architecture already flying” in its crewed Alia CX300 electric airplane, which the company aims to certify for commercial operations this year. 
For the hybrid-electric MV250, Beta claims a maximum range of 2,408 kilometers (1,300 nm), or a 250-nm “tactical range,” with a payload of up to 2,000 pounds. The aircraft’s series-configured, hybrid-electric turbogenerator,&nbsp;developed with GE Aerospace, will deliver greater speed and higher operational availability, according to the company.
Unlike existing tiltrotor and legacy platforms, Beta believes that its “simplified aircraft architecture” can reduce maintenance and support requirements while offering lower-cost solutions “to quickly move equipment, munitions, medical supplies, and critical cargo across dispersed operating environments.” 
Integrating the Matrix stack into Beta’s open-architecture flight control system is “another step forward in providing a range of solutions for contested logistics missions,” said Sikorsky v-p and general manager Rich Benton. The Lockheed Martin subsidiary has demonstrated the capability in autonomous operations since 2021, and every Matrix-equipped aircraft is commanded through the same interface.
Notably, with Sikorsky and Beta having agreed to the collaboration only earlier this month, Sikorsky said the integration of Matrix into Beta’s CX300 CTOL variant was completed in just two weeks. It added that the open-architecture Matrix solution is ideally suited for “easy integration with other flight control frameworks,” such as the common flight control architecture shared by the Alia aircraft family. To date, Matrix autonomy has been integrated on more than 20 different platforms, “from helicopters to drones to fighters and cargo aircraft,” concluded Sikorsky.

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In this article

Sikorsky Aircraft

More In Unmanned Aerial Vehicles

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