Uncrewed series hybrid-electric lift+cruise VTOL: eight vertical-lift propellers on wing booms and four forward cruise propellers, powered by a battery charged in flight by a turbine-driven generator.
Propulsion Unit Count
12
Redundancy Approach
Distributed electric lift with eight independent lift propulsors plus four cruise propulsors; manufacturer cites safety through propulsor redundancy. Power-system redundancy details are not published.
Range / Speed
Manufacturer-published: up to 450 mi (724 km) range, 115 kt (213 km/h) cruise, 500+ lb (227+ kg) payload.
Seat Count
Last Updated
September 25, 2026
Chaparral has flown hover-to-wingborne transitions (reported August 2025) and uncrewed autonomous flights under the FAA eIPP. Kratos is to build production aircraft in Sacramento, with the first targeted for late 2026. No civil type certificate has been announced.
First Kratos-built production aircraft; published full-payload range and reserve data; sustained autonomous operations under Army and commercial customer programs.
Chaparral is an uncrewed hybrid-electric VTOL cargo aircraft for middle-mile logistics and military resupply. It lifts vertically on distributed electric propellers, cruises on a high-mounted wing and carries freight in a detachable pod under the fuselage.
The program is in flight test and pre-production. Published performance values are manufacturer figures, not certified data.
Elroy publishes eight vertical-lift propellers and four forward cruise propellers, a 9.2 m wingspan and a 6.65 m length. The series hybrid powertrain uses a turbine-driven generator to charge the battery in flight, so the aircraft needs fuel rather than charging infrastructure at delivery sites.
The canoe-shaped cargo pod attaches under the fuselage and is designed for autonomous pickup and drop-off. Manufacturer-published performance: 500+ lb payload, up to 450 mi range and 115 kt cruise.
Elroy was founded in 2016 and first hovered a Chaparral in August 2019. The pre-production C1 was unveiled in January 2022. The company announced a hover-to-wingborne transition in August 2025 and later reported uncrewed autonomous flights under the FAA eVTOL Integration Pilot Program.
In 2026, Elroy announced a SPAC merger (June), a $46 million U.S. Army contract (August), an expansion of Bristow's early-delivery reservations to 15 aircraft (September) and a PIPE upsized to $175 million (24 September). Kratos is the exclusive U.S. manufacturer.
Target missions are middle-mile cargo, rapid-response logistics and military resupply. Customers and partners named by Elroy include the U.S. Army, Bristow Group, Barq Group, SLI and FedEx.
Reservations and pre-orders are recorded as company-reported commercial interest, not firm deliveries.
The open gates are civil airworthiness and operating approval for a large uncrewed cargo aircraft, conversion of reservations into firm orders, production ramp at Kratos, and published range and payload performance with reserves. The SPAC merger was not closed as of 25 September 2026.
Manufacturer aircraft page — reviewed 25 Sep 2026: propeller layout, dimensions, payload, range, cruise speed. Source.
SPAC announcement — 26 Jun 2026: valuation, expected ticker and close, manufacturing partners, customers. Source.
U.S. Army contract — 18 Aug 2026: $46 million award. Source.
PIPE upsizing — 24 Sep 2026: $175 million PIPE, Lockheed Martin Ventures, Kratos production, late-2026 first production aircraft. Source.
Evidence boundary: performance values are manufacturer-published; no civil type certificate announced.
September 25, 2026
