AIR unveils unmanned AIR ONE Cargo eVTOL

AIR, an original equipment manufacturer of midsize electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, is expanding into the cargo and logistics market with its unmanned AIR ONE Cargo eVTOL. In the past year, the company secured multiple deals to supply the unmanned version of its flagship eVTOL aircraft, AIR ONE, for cargo purposes. Having already successfully delivered the first cargo aircraft, AIR is set to continue fulfilling the purchase orders for the remaining AIR ONE Cargo units throughout 2024 and the first half of 2025.

Driven by high market demand and backed by purchase orders, AIR developed the unmanned eVTOLs for cargo use-cases, in addition to its manned, personal-use variant.

AIR ONE Cargo firmly bolsters the maturation of AIR’s products and design concepts, contributing valuable flight hours toward safety verification. Additionally, the cargo aircraft aids in achieving scaled production volume, leveraging AIR’s automotive-based production line, methodologies, and automated manufacturing systems.

"Venturing into this new market with AIR ONE Cargo is a testament to our unwavering commitment to the integration of eVTOLs into all spheres of daily life, for a variety of use cases,” said Rani Plaut, CEO and co-founder of AIR. “We expanded our offerings in response to strong market demand, and the feedback we’ve already received affirms that AIR ONE’s robust capabilities and simple, cost-effective design make it an extremely agile platform, uniquely able to scale across different uses.”

Capable of taking off and landing vertically while carrying a 550 lb (250kg) payload, the all-electric AIR ONE Cargo offers a practical long range on a single charge at speeds comparable to the manned passenger variant of AIR ONE.

This offering marks the latest milestone for AIR, which announced its participation in the U.S. Air Force’s prestigious AFWERX Agility Prime program in December to drive flight testing and additional R&D efforts in the United States. AIR is continuing to amass significant flight test hours with its full-scale prototypes after successfully proving all phases of flight. With 1,170 AIR ONE vehicles for personal use already reserved via preorder and a waiting list, AIR plans to deliver the first batch of aircraft to consumers following aircraft certification.