Electra Defense, the defense unit of Virginia-based Electra, has won a $4.7 million contract from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to test its hybrid-electric power and propulsion technology on the ground and in the air. The company announced the award on November 9.
The award is an innovative capabilities opening (ICO) contract. It covers testing and evaluation of Electra’s nine-passenger EL9 Ultra Short aircraft and its hybrid-electric propulsion system. The goal is to give the U.S. Air Force performance data so it can judge whether ultra-short takeoff and landing (Ultra-STOL) aircraft are useful for military operations, including distributed logistics and its Agile Combat Employment (ACE) doctrine.
What will be tested
According to Electra, the program includes:
- checks of key hybrid-electric power and propulsion technologies;
- extensive ground testing of the EL9 preproduction aircraft;
- acoustic flight tests to see how well the aircraft can fly quietly on battery power alone when coming in and leaving during special operations missions;
- modeling and simulation of how such aircraft could use a wider range of sites, move people and urgent cargo quickly, and rely less on traditional airfields and ground equipment.
Electra says the results will feed into future Air Force decisions on technology development and acquisition.
“Power and propulsion are fundamental to unlocking new capabilities for military aviation,” said Donn Yates, vice president and general manager of Electra Defense.
The contract builds on Electra’s earlier work with AFRL. That includes a Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) award worth up to $85 million in 2023 to help develop the full-scale preproduction aircraft, and demonstrations during AFRL’s Future Flag 25-3 exercise in 2025.
Source: Electra via PR Newswire, November 9, 2026.
Image: Electra