The military potential of Pivotal's eVTOL: Weapon of the Week

In 1962, Hanna-Barbera offered a version of what life on Earth might be like 100 years

in the future with the Jetsons, showcasing all kinds of space-age technology woven into

everyday life, but nothing quite captured the audience's attention like the promise

of flying cars. While 2062 is still 37 years away, that promise might be closer than you think

At this year's Soft Week in Tampa, Florida, we saw something that captured our attention

like George Jetson's Daily Driver did 63 years ago. That's why Pivotal's Blackfly eVTOL is our Weapon of the Week

When you first see it, the Blackfly kind of looks like a next-gen remote-control drone

But a double take reveals something else entirely. An American-made all-electric flying vehicle capable of vertical takeoffs and landings

Made by Pivotal, the Blackfly and its successor, the Helix, were built for private use and emergency medical services

But now there's an eye on bringing this tech to the military

There are a number of missions that we think that we are ideally suited for

In the near term, that could be covert insertion, covert extraction. It could be a rescue of a downed pilot or a stranded individual in a SAR or SEER situation Ken Karklin Pivotal CEO says their vehicles are also capable of uncrewed flight You could send out a number of these aircraft autonomously because they actually at an

attributable price point. And then one of them comes back with that stranded individual who

is able to fly themselves back or it's done remotely. If early signs are any indication

the military is interested as well. In 2024, Pivotal delivered four black flies to AFWERX

the innovation wing at the Air Force Research Lab. Karklin says that kind of interest is pushing Pivotal to develop the next evolution of their aircraft

We're going to be working very diligently on the big brother to the helix, which is very defense-focused

It's called the Spiro. It's the same fundamental architecture, same building blocks

It's our platform, but about an order of magnitude up on the gross takeoff weight

So rather than something north of 500 pounds, you'd be something just north of 5,000 pounds

capable of carrying 2,000 pounds of cargo, 300 nautical miles. Pivotal also landed a two-year deal with the Air Force and AFWERX Agility Prime

that gives them access to testing facilities, expert resources, and several sites within restricted airspace

With that kind of support, Pivotal can speed up both crewed and uncrewed flight testing

and system verification, boosting the chances for getting a pivotal aircraft into operation

Where we really want to focus is in the defense space, because we sincerely believe that there

are some missions out there we can do better than anyone else can at a better cost point

and solve real problems for the warfighter. So that's why we're here