Elroy Air announces upsizing of PIPE investments to $175 million with participation from Lockheed Martin Ventures

Elroy Air, a leading U.S.-based technology developer of autonomous heavy-cargo drones for defence, rapid response and commercial logistics, today announced that it has expanded its previously-disclosed PIPE commitments, increasing the total to $175 million. Existing investors including Lockheed Martin Ventures and Inflection Point participated and $75 million has now been funded prior to the closing of the Business Combination Agreement between Elroy Air and Inflection Point Acquisition Corp. VII (f/k/a Columbus Circle Capital Corp II).

"Inflection Point's increased financial commitment and PIPE upsize reflect our confidence in Elroy's progress since our transaction announcement in June," said Michael Blitzer, Inflection Point Chairman and CEO. "In this time, Elroy won a significant new contract with the U.S. Army, tripled deposit-backed orders with Bristow, advanced its manufacturing timeline and scale with Kratos, and continued with successful flight demonstrations including the first autonomous flights under the FAA's eIPP. Now, with Elroy's continued strategic investment and expanded collaboration with Lockheed Martin, Elroy is the clear leader in the rapidly growing heavy-lift autonomous drone market."

"With these expanded PIPE funds we will accelerate production to get Chaparral into the hands of commercial and defence partners at scale," said Elroy Air CEO Dr. Andrew Clare. "We're proud to have the support and conviction of Inflection Point and our existing investors. Lockheed Martin has been a long-standing collaborator in our vision to revolutionize logistics in contested environments, and this strategic investment deepens that relationship and we're proud to continue our work together."

Lockheed Martin and Elroy Air intend to collaborate on a number of initiatives including advanced autonomous systems and joint business development across both commercial and defence markets.

"Modern conflict increasingly depends on the ability to resupply forces quickly, without the fixed infrastructure that makes traditional logistics vulnerable. Lockheed Martin Ventures' continued investment in Elroy Air signals our commitment to keeping pace with our customers' requirements, helping ensure mission readiness for the U.S. and its allies," said Chris Moran, Vice President and General Manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures. "As an early strategic investor, we're proud to see the Elroy Air team take the company public."

Elroy Air recently announced the company has been awarded a multi-year contract worth up to $46 million with the U.S. Army. The agreement builds on previous U.S. Army contracts from the past two years and will focus on ensuring the company's heavy-cargo drone Chaparral can operate alongside service members in contested, austere environments by enhancing its modular multi-mission payload versatility and payload delivery mechanisms.

Elroy Air also recently completed the first autonomous and uncrewed flights authorised under the U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) and the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) eVTOL Integration Pilot Programme (eIPP) marking a historic moment on the way to nationwide commercial autonomous cargo operations. The flights were completed in partnership with LIFTOFF Louisiana and long-time partner Bristow Group, demonstrating Chaparral's readiness for commercial service across the Gulf Coast's energy and industrial corridors across Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi.

Following the milestone, the Bristow Group announced that it had expanded its early delivery reservations for the Chaparral autonomous cargo aircraft, reserving 10 additional early delivery positions for a total of 15. Bristow previously secured early delivery slots for five Chaparral drones and announced a pre-order agreement for up to 100 Chaparral drones.

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, the exclusive U.S. manufacturer of Chaparral, will produce the aircraft at its expanding Sacramento, California facility, with the first production aircraft planned for late 2026.