KORTHOS / ECOSYSTEM / PRODUCT

Chaparral

About

About Chaparral

Chaparral is Elroy Air’s autonomous hybrid-electric cargo aircraft for middle-mile logistics and military resupply. Eight lift propellers provide vertical takeoff and landing, while four forward propellers drive wingborne cruise. Detachable cargo pods let ground crews prepare loads separately from the aircraft and change between delivery configurations without a runway. The current published design specifies a payload above 500 pounds and a maximum range of 450 miles; the achievable mission depends on load and operating conditions.

The programme remains in flight testing and pre-production. Chaparral demonstrated autonomous transitions between hover and wingborne flight in 2025. In December that year, a Hatch Load Pod configuration carried 213 pounds over a 2.6-mile test flight and landed at a separate delivery location in Byron, California. That performed mission is distinct from the current design envelope. Elroy Air has selected Kratos to manufacture the aircraft in the United States.

21 JUL 2026

Kratos prepares Chaparral for production

Capabilities

Source-backed capabilities

  • Operating environments: Elroy Air flight-test operations in California, U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground
  • Control modes: Autonomous, Supervised Autonomy
  • VTOL transition flight

    Demonstrated - 2025-08-14 - Transitioned autonomously from vertical takeoff to 70 mph wingborne flight, then completed a pilot-assisted vertical landing. - environment: Elroy Air flight-test operations in California

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  • Cargo delivery

    Demonstrated - 2025-12-18 - Carried cargo from one location to another, landing vertically at the delivery point. - environment: Elroy Air flight-test operations in California

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  • Load carrying

    Demonstrated - Lifted a 300 lb cargo load during a five-flight campaign at Yuma Proving Ground in July 2024. - environment: U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground

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Operations

  • Production Setup

    First production aircraft planned for late 2026 - 2026-09-17 - Kratos Sacramento aircraft production facility - Sacramento, California, United States - Kratos planned the first production Chaparral aircraft for late 2026 at its expanding Sacramento, California facility.

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  • Order / Commitment

    15 early delivery positions reserved - 2026-09-17 - Bristow Group - Bristow held 15 early Chaparral delivery reservations after expanding its reserved positions.

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Supply

Supply / Components

  • Chaparral

    Chaparral Vtol Cargo Drone Manufacturing - Manufacturing - Kratos Defense & Security Solutions - Kratos is contracted as Elroy Air’s exclusive U.S. Chaparral manufacturer, with first production aircraft planned for late 2026 - source: kratosdefense.com

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  • Elroy Air Chaparral

    Mesh Rider Radio For Chaparral Cargo Aircraft - Communications - Doodle Labs - Elroy Air integrated Doodle Labs Mesh Rider Radio into the Chaparral autonomous cargo aircraft communications architecture - source: doodlelabs.com

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Resources

Media library

Timeline

  • Elroy Air expands PIPE commitments to $175 million

    2026-09-24 - Market Signal - Lockheed Martin Ventures and Inflection Point participated in the expanded financing. The capital is intended to accelerate Chaparral production for commercial and defense customers. The proposed combination with Inflection Point Acquisition Corp. VII remained subject to shareholder and regulatory steps.

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  • Elroy Air’s Bristow reservation total rises to 15 aircraft

    2026-09-17 - Commercial Order - Bristow had previously reserved five early positions and agreed to pre-order up to 100 aircraft. The expansion followed Chaparral’s autonomous cargo-flight demonstrations in Houma, Louisiana. The partners were evaluating commercial logistics, government-service and special-mission applications.

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  • Elroy Air completes uncrewed Chaparral flights under the eIPP

    2026-09-02 - Demonstration - The flights took place under air traffic control oversight with no pilot onboard. Bristow Group and LIFTOFF Louisiana supported the programme at Houma–Terrebonne Airport. Cargo included parcels, medical supplies, toolboxes, food and water.

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  • Elroy Air wins $46.06M Army contract for autonomous hybrid-VTOL UAS

    2026-08-17 - Contract Award - $5,135,354 in fiscal 2026 research, development, test and evaluation funds was obligated at award. The firm-fixed-price work will be performed in South San Francisco and is scheduled for completion on February 18, 2029. Army Contracting Command at Aberdeen Proving Ground is the contracting activity under contract W911QX-26-C-A016.

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  • Kratos expands Sacramento line for late-2026 Chaparral production

    2026-07-20 - Production Milestone - Kratos is expanding Sacramento capacity and expects to add more than 50 employees as Chaparral production ramps. The autonomous hybrid-electric VTOL is designed to carry more than 500 lb over distances of up to 450 miles. Kratos will fulfil U.S. customer orders; Elroy Air reports a demand pipeline exceeding 1,400 aircraft.

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  • Elroy Air demonstrates unattended Chaparral airdrop modes

    2026-07-15 - Demonstration - A single flight released a 68-pound load from hover and a 70-pound load from 65 feet during forward flight. Software executed the drops from programmed coordinates without operator input during release. Elroy Air also reported a separate unattended ground-delivery demonstration and planned further field exercises with the U.S. Army.

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  • Elroy Air signs SPAC deal with Columbus Circle Capital Corp II

    2026-06-26 - Market Signal - The transaction is expected to list the combined company in the fourth quarter of 2026, subject to approvals and closing conditions. Elroy said proceeds would support commercial-scale production of Chaparral autonomous cargo drones with Kratos. The company cited a demand pipeline of more than 1,400 aircraft and an Abu Dhabi manufacturing joint venture.

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  • Chaparral selected for U.S. eVTOL Integration Pilot Program

    2026-03-11 - Regulatory - The planned programme covers cargo operations across Louisiana, Texas and Mississippi. Target locations include Gulf Coast and energy-industry sites. Elroy Air was the programme's only purpose-built heavy-payload cargo-drone OEM.

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  • Barq Group and Elroy Air sign initial Abu Dhabi Chaparral manufacturing JV agreement

    2026-01-08 - Partnership - The framework covers a planned Abu Dhabi facility for Chaparral manufacturing and services in the MENA region. The JV is intended to support commercial and humanitarian customers after required approvals. Elroy and Barq plan initial UAE flight operations in 2027 using U.S.-built aircraft, followed by local production in Abu Dhabi in 2028.

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  • Elroy Air completes first airport-to-airport Chaparral cargo delivery

    2025-12-18 - Demonstration - A first airport-to-airport cargo delivery was completed using the hybrid-electric Chaparral VTOL aircraft. The December 10 flight carried 213 lb over 2.6 miles in Byron, California and reached approximately 60 mph before landing at a second location. Published specs in the release describe Chaparral as designed for up to 300 lb of cargo over 300 miles, with the milestone framed as part of the path toward 2026 production scaling.

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  • Elroy Air names Kratos exclusive U.S. manufacturer for Chaparral

    2025-09-23 - Partnership - Initial aircraft were planned for Sacramento, followed by high-rate production in Oklahoma City. The first production Chaparral aircraft were targeted for 2026. Kratos would contribute existing composite-drone manufacturing facilities and a qualified UAS supply chain.

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  • Chaparral autonomously transitions to 70 mph wingborne flight

    2025-08-14 - Demonstration - The aircraft reached a maximum speed of 70 mph. Forward flight used up to four times less power than vertical flight. The flights established the technical basis for longer point-to-point missions.

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  • Elroy Air completes funding first close and names Andrew Clare CEO

    2025-01-14 - Funding - Shield Capital, Snowpoint Ventures, Lockheed Martin Ventures, Milano Investment Partners, DiamondStream Partners and Levitate Capital participated. The financing was allocated to Chaparral productization. Clare brought vehicle-program experience across autonomy, aerospace, automotive and robotics.

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  • Elroy Air flies its first turbogenerator-hybrid Chaparral prototype

    2023-11-12 - Demonstration - The Chaparral C1 took off vertically, flew for 57 seconds and landed at Byron Airport, California. Its distributed propulsion combines a turbine-driven generator with high-power batteries. The next envelope-expansion work covered hover, transition and cruise flight with U.S. Air Force coordination.

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  • Elroy Air secures five early Chaparral delivery reservations from Bristow

    2023-09-05 - Commercial Order - Deposits secured positions for some of the first commercially certified Chaparral aircraft planned from production. Bristow intended to use the aircraft internationally for logistics, healthcare and energy applications. The reservations followed the companies’ 2022 letter of intent for up to 100 aircraft.

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  • LCI commits to up to 40 Chaparral aircraft and deposits on first 20

    2023-01-11 - Commercial Order - Elroy Air said its aggregate aircraft demand exceeded $2 billion and 900 systems after the agreement. LCI planned to make Chaparral available through its aviation-financing platform. Elroy Air also moved flight-test operations to a 7,000-square-foot hangar at Byron Airport.

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  • Bristow signs Chaparral purchase letter of intent

    2022-07-13 - Market Signal - The LOI was expected to be replaced by a separate purchase agreement. Bristow planned to combine its vertical-flight and UAS operating experience with Chaparral. Elroy Air reported agreements covering 900 aircraft across commercial, defence and humanitarian customers at the time.

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  • FedEx plans Chaparral cargo-drone testing with Elroy Air

    2022-03-30 - Partnership - Planned trials would move shipments between FedEx Express sortation locations. The companies had collaborated since January 2020 and aimed to begin flight testing in 2023. The project also covered certification work for autonomous middle-mile cargo operations.

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  • Elroy Air unveils pre-production Chaparral cargo aircraft

    2022-01-26 - Product Launch - The announced design targeted 300–500 pounds of cargo over a 300-mile range. Mesa Airlines expressed intent to order 150 aircraft for parcel and healthcare logistics. A U.S. Air Force TACFI award added $1.7 million to the company’s existing Phase III SBIR work.

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  • AYR Logistics commits to purchase up to 100 Chaparral aircraft

    2021-11-15 - Commercial Order - AYR planned to use Chaparral for food, shelter, medicine, vaccine and equipment delivery. The agreement was signed in October 2021 and announced at the Dubai Air Show. The commitment covered autonomous hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft for remote operations without conventional infrastructure.

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  • Elroy Air raises $40M Series A for Chaparral development

    2021-08-03 - Funding - Catapult Ventures, DiamondStream Partners, Side X Side Management, Shield Capital Partners and Precursor Ventures also participated. The company planned to complete pre-production aircraft, advance certification and begin flight validation with U.S. Air Force and Navy partners. The round financed Chaparral integration, test operations and supply-chain development.

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  • Elroy Air and NASA partner on autonomous cargo-aircraft integration

    2021-01-14 - Partnership - The work covered collision avoidance, flight-path management and two-way network flight-plan communications. NASA planned to supply simulation scenarios and interface details. The partners intended to demonstrate integrated scenarios with Chaparral flights.

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  • U.S. Air Force awards Elroy Air Phase III SBIR for Chaparral

    2020-12-18 - Contract Award - The work covered operational test and evaluation of the aircraft and its subsystems. The contract created a path toward potential Air Force acquisition. Elroy Air had begun working with the Air Force under a Phase II SBIR in 2019.

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  • Elroy Air completes first full-scale Chaparral prototype flight

    2019-08-14 - Demonstration - The 1,215-pound prototype climbed to 10 feet and hovered for 64 seconds before landing. The flight was conducted at McMillan Airfield in partnership with the Naval Postgraduate School. Further testing was planned for autonomous control, transitions and forward flight.

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Context

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