Airframer news
29/07/2026
The twin prop-rotor combines vertical take-off and landing with fixed-wing speed and range, extending Sikorsky's autonomous aircraft portfolio.
Sikorsky has completed initial ground and flight testing of its Nomad 100 uncrewed aerial system (UAS), carried out in collaboration with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Early VTOL Aircraft Demonstration (EVADE) programme.
Nomad 100 is a variant of Sikorsky's rotor blown wing architecture, combining the vertical lift and hover capabilities of a helicopter with the speed, range and endurance of a fixed-wing aircraft. Its twin prop-rotor system enables vertical take-off and landing, hover, cruise on the wing and runway independent operations in all weather conditions across land and sea. The aircraft marks Sikorsky's entry into the UAS market, combining its rotorcraft and autonomy expertise with AI, advanced manufacturing and electric propulsion. DARPA has selected Sikorsky's MATRIX autonomy system as the autonomy solution for all five platforms under the EVADE programme.
Rich Benton, vice president and general manager, Sikorsky, says: “Nomad 100's ongoing flight testing reflects our commitment to advancing autonomous technology while delivering safe and reliable mission capabilities that equip customers to fill critical operational gaps.” He adds: “Nomad will serve as part of a crewed-uncrewed team complementing missions anywhere from austere forward operating bases to ship decks and unimproved landing zones.”
Sikorsky will next advance Nomad 100 through an intensive flight test campaign at a government facility, replicating a range of multirole missions. MATRIX also enables Sikorsky's other autonomous platforms, the S-70UAS U-Hawk and the hybrid electric demonstrator (HEX). The system has logged more than 1,000 flight hours across over 500 tests and demonstrations, with more than 100 operators trained from the Department of War and firefighting communities, and more than 20 platforms integrated to date.