About

About CAPSTONE

CAPSTONE is Certo Aerospace’s heavy-lift coaxial-rotor uncrewed helicopter, developed for defence and civil missions. Its modular airframe, undercarriage, payload interfaces and mission systems let crews change between cargo, casualty-evacuation and maritime configurations. The October 2026 configuration has a 600-kilogram maximum take-off weight and a 300-kilogram combined allowance for payload and fuel, so usable cargo depends on the fuel carried.

The programme remains in flight-test development after three years of trials. Certo reports logistics and casualty-evacuation demonstrations in 2025 using its Universal Carriage System, followed by an anti-submarine-warfare demonstration in February 2026 with sonobuoy tubes and acoustic-processing equipment. Command links and ground-control interfaces can be adapted to customer requirements. A heavy-fuel engine is undergoing ground testing, with its first flight tests planned for 2027.

Capabilities

Source-backed capabilities

Operating environments: Keevil Airfield flight demonstration, Project MORRIGHAN flight demonstrations, Keevil Airfield, Project MORRIGHAN flight demonstrations, Project MORRIGHAN trials
Control modes: Autonomous
ISR and tactical support
Demonstrated - 2026-02-23 - Flew an ASW test configuration and relayed replayed sonobuoy acoustic data through a UYS-506 processor and ground stations. - environment: Keevil Airfield flight demonstration
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Cargo delivery
Demonstrated - 2026-01-06 - Picked up, transported and dropped off logistics carriage systems during autonomous test flights. - environment: Project MORRIGHAN flight demonstrations, Keevil Airfield
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Casualty evacuation
Demonstrated - 2026-01-06 - Demonstrated carriage of the Rapid-ACE casualty-evacuation system during Project MORRIGHAN trials. - environment: Project MORRIGHAN flight demonstrations, Keevil Airfield
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Observed use

Exact-product configurations are shown without inferring supply, purchase, customer status, standard fit, deployment or partnership.

GDMS UYS-506 acoustic processor and sonobuoy equipment
2026-02-23 - Physical Demo - Mounted - Physical - CAPSTONE flew with a GDMS UYS-506 processor and sonobuoy equipment at Keevil Airfield, relaying QinetiQ replayed acoustic data and testing transatlantic links.
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Blackspace Technology Rapid-ACE CASEVAC carriage system
Physical Demo - Mounted - Physical - CAPSTONE demonstrated a Rapid-ACE CASEVAC carriage configuration during Project MORRIGHAN trials in 2025.
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Resources

Curated durable documents and official technical references.

CAPSTONE multi-role VTOL UAS — October 2026
PDF · Flight-test and proposed mission configurations · Certo Aerospace
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Timeline

Certo Aerospace raises £5M for CAPSTONE heavy-lift UAS development
2026-10-01 - Funding - The company will expand design, test and manufacturing operations in Somerset and Wiltshire. CAPSTONE is a600 kg-class coaxial VTOL UAS undergoing CAA-approved flight operations and systems-integration evaluations. New and existing shareholders supplied the equity, with nearly all investors based in the United Kingdom.
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Certo demonstrates CAPSTONE acoustic-payload integration for Atlantic Bastion
2026-02-23 - Demonstration - The trial integrated a UYS-506 processor and representative sonobuoy payload for a flight exceeding two hours. QinetiQ’s sonobuoy data creator supplied acoustic data for the demonstration. Starlink supported transatlantic command and control of the processor and transmission of acoustic data.
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Certo reports CAPSTONE logistics and CASEVAC demonstrations
2026-01-06 - Demonstration - The tests covered pickup, transit and drop-off using three logistics and CASEVAC carriage systems. The configurations included Skylift TEUCAN/SkyHook, an Aether Aerospace winch and Blackspace Rapid-ACE. Flight sequences at Keevil included autonomous takeoff, climb, waypoint navigation, descent and precision landing.
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Certo Aerospace raises £3 million to accelerate CAPSTONE flight trials
2025-04-24 - Funding - The expanded round followed subscriptions above the company’s original target. The investment supported flight testing of the 600 kg-class CAPSTONE coaxial VTOL aircraft. The company planned to showcase two flying prototypes at the Goodwood Festival of Speed Future Lab.
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