According ot the US-based aerospace manufacturer, the MV250 is a defence version of Beta’s fully electric A250, a crewed vertical take-off and landing aircraft.
It keeps the A250’s shape but drops the cockpit seats and passenger cabin. Beta built it with GE Aerospace and Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company.
Range And Load
The MV250 can reposition over 1,300 nautical miles (2,400km), operate within a tactical range of 250nm, and carry a payload of up to 907kg (2,000lb).
Founder and chief executive Kyle Clark said its design gives longer range, higher speed and lower running costs than tiltrotor and older military aircraft, combining Beta’s own technology with GE Aerospace and Sikorsky systems at a lower purchase cost and lighter logistics load.
Beta MV250 autonomous hybrid-electric VTOL.
Beta’s commercial aircraft run on batteries alone, but it chose a hybrid-electric system for the MV250 to suit military needs, keeping electric-engine reliability and low maintenance while adding range and ground power generation.
GE Aerospace and Beta jointly built the turbogenerator under a technology-sharing agreement. It is based on GE’s T700/CT7 engine, which also powers the Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk and Boeing AH-64 Apache.
Its design closely links electromagnetics and power electronics to the turbine, improving efficiency and durability while cutting weight and cost.
GE Aerospace defence chief Amy Gowder, also a Beta board member, said the turbogenerator draws on GE’s propulsion expertise to add range and mission flexibility.
Flying Without Pilots
Sikorsky’s Matrix system will handle uncrewed flight, having already flown the Black Hawk and Sikorsky’s developmental Noman uncrewed aircraft. Beta also runs its own autonomy system.
The MV250’s open, modular flight controls meet US military standards and can work with different autonomy and mission systems. Sikorsky’s Rich Benton said the aircraft widens the uncrewed options available to commanders in contested areas.
Beta wants the MV250 to carry equipment, munitions, medical supplies and cargo. Built on Beta’s existing production lines, it should cut development and testing costs, and Beta expects to join further military exercises with it.
Testing Track Record
Two other Beta aircraft are in testing: the crewed A250 and the conventionally landing CX300, which recently began limited commercial flights under a new FAA pilot programme.
The two share 80% of their parts, including cockpits and controls, and are built at Beta’s Burlington, Vermont factory. The CX300 flies at Farnborough this year, after its Paris debut last year.
Just before the show, a Beta conventional take-off aircraft flew 30 logistics sorties in NATO’s Aurora 26 exercise in Sweden, at the US Army’s invitation. Beta’s ALIA aircraft family has flown over 160,000 nautical miles and the company runs more than 100 charging sites worldwide.
Rivals Circle
Others are following suit. Joby Aviation’s S4-T is a hybrid-electric, autonomous logistics version of its S4 passenger aircraft. Archer Aviation, meanwhile, is partnering with Anduril Industries on the Thunder, a large uncrewed tiltrotor aircraft for armed strike missions.
