VerdeGo Aero, Inc. has announced that they are now shipping the VH-4T-RD hybrid-electric powerplant to customers, marking the transition from internal research and development to active customer deployment for pre-certification applications. Initial deliveries of the VH-4T, delivered on-budget and on schedule, demonstrate repeatable manufacturing capability and readiness to support OEM integration and testing. This revolutionary powerplant enables high-performance electrified aircraft and drones to have significant mission capabilities for military and commercial markets.

The VH-4T enables revolutionary gains in performance and efficiency in a wide variety of use cases.

- Converting a battery-electric 4-6 seat VTOL aircraft to a VH-4T hybrid typically improves range by 10X, raises cruise speed, and adds hundreds of pounds of payload by optimizing around hybrids vs batteries.

- For winged VTOL aircraft/drones leveraging distributed electric propulsion (DEP), the VH-4T enables long-range missions and convertible flight modes with higher reliability than conventional tiltrotors and greater cruise efficiency than helicopters

- Aircraft or rotorcraft with a single main rotor or propeller can benefit from the VH-4T’s ability to support series and parallel hybrid configurations, leveraging the best aspects of liquid fuels and batteries to enhance efficiency and performance.

- Next-generation drones requiring substantial power from onboard payloads are enabled by applying this powerplant.

The VH-4T is a fully-integrated turbine-powered hybrid electric powerplant that includes power generation and rectification, control systems, mechanical integration, and integrated cooling systems that enable it to run at full power continuously with no additional cooling required. As such, the VH-4T is as simple to integrate into electrified aircraft as a Part 33-certified aircraft engine. VerdeGo has applied knowledge gained from five generations of full-scale hybrids to ensure that the installation and integration of the VH-4T into customer aircraft is faster and cheaper than any other option in this power range.

The VH-4T-RD developmental version of the VH-4T generates 375 kW of high-voltage power, and this version is shipping now to accelerate flight and ground testing at customers with aggressive timelines. The 415-kW VH-4T-415, the production-intent version, is currently under development, with maturation funded in-part from a USAF Phase III contract, this version begins ground testing later in 2026.

Customers applying the VH-4T can cut years of development time from their schedules and reduce development costs substantially, while also benefiting from the capabilities and performance that are only available from the team that originally started the aerospace hybrid-electric market in 2011.

Customers can choose to purchase or lease the VH-4T-RD ahead of VH-4T-415 availability. Both systems use the same mounting points to ease the transition from the -RD version to the -415, and VerdeGo’s Hybrid Systems Integration Lab (HSIL) in Daytona Beach, FL is available to support rapid, cost-effective system-level risk reduction testing for the customer’s entire hybrid-electric powertrain.

Shipment of the first VH-4T unit marks a significant milestone in the advance of hybrid propulsion from the laboratory to become a product line available for customer applications. This milestone reinforces VerdeGo Aero’s position as a leader in the market for hybrid-electric propulsion technology.

Aircraft OEMs and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) aircraft developers interested in hybrid-electric propulsion are encouraged to connect with VerdeGo Aero to discuss VH-4T availability, integration support, and strategies to accelerate development of high-performance hybrid-electric aircraft.