SIKORSKY’S NEXT ACT(S)


The HEX aircraft platform features a tilting wing, as


opposed to tilting rotors and/or nacelles.


blown wing UAS in both helicopter and airplane modes. The 115-lb., twin prop-rotor prototype sits on its tail to take off and land like a helicopter and transitions to horizontal forward flight for long- endurance missions. “Combining helicopter and airplane flight char-


acteristics onto a flying wing reflects Sikorsky’s drive to innovate next-generation VTOL UAS aircraft that can fly faster and farther than tradi- tional helicopters,” says Benton. The prototype has demonstrated operational


stability and maneuverability across all flight regimes, and the company says it has the poten- tial to scale the VTOL design to larger sizes that will use hybrid-electric propulsion. All Sikorsky rotor blown wing variants will include the Matrix technology that enables aircraft autonomy. In January, the 10.3-ft.-composite-wingspan


aircraft completed more than 40 takeoffs and landings, as well as 30 transitions between heli- copter and airplane modes. In horizontal flight, the aircraft reached a top cruise speed of 86 kt. According to Sikorsky’s Cherepinsky, the data


56 POWER UP JUN 2025


collected indicates that the aircraft can “operate from pitching ship decks and unprepared ground when scaled to much larger sizes.” Other applications include search and rescue,


firefighting monitoring, humanitarian response, and pipeline surveillance. Large variants will enable long-range intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions as well as piloted-drone teaming operations, in which a piloted aircraft directs one or more UASs.


HEX VTOL Aircraft In 2023, Sikorsky announced plans to develop its HEX platform, an autonomous, hybrid-electric, high-speed VTOL aircraft prototype. The HEX design is unique, featuring a tilting wing, as opposed to tilting rotors and/or nacelles, which have been the most common form of tiltrotor technology to date. The first flight of a HEX aircraft could occur by


2027. The demonstration aircraft is substantial: 9,000 lb. and 40 ft. long, powered by a GE CT7 engine. Production aircraft could eventually scale


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