Textron Systems’ Aerosonde uncrewed aircraft system, designed for land- and sea-based operations and supporting missions ranging from Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) to electronic warfare, has completed its first flight in commercial airspace using vertiports for both takeoff and landing.
The demonstration flight was conducted in collaboration with the Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP) at Virginia Tech to support the Virginia Advanced Air Mobility Smart Airspace Program. Operating in the Aerosonde Mk. 4.7 VTOL configuration, the uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) launched from a vertiport at the Virginia Tech Transportation Institute in Blacksburg, Virginia. It traversed nearly 150 nautical miles of commercial airspace over a two-and-a-half-hour duration before landing at a second vertiport at Textron Systems’ Aerosonde Center of Excellence in Blackstone, Virginia.
The project aligns with broader efforts to research advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft in the local region through the utilization of designated vertiport infrastructure. MAAP, one of seven Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)-designated UAS test sites, was charged with leading the Virginia Advanced Air Mobility Smart Airspace Program when it launched in March 2025.
Sara Willett, Vice President, Uncrewed Air and Land Systems, said, “We are excited to collaborate with Virginia Tech in supporting the aviation and local communities through this opportunity with the Virginia Advanced Air Mobility Smart Airspace Program. The Aerosonde UAS’ ability to provide reliable aerial monitoring and critical data collection makes it an ideal platform for helping develop the smart airspace technologies that will enable the future of advanced air mobility.”
The Aerosonde platform is available in Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) and fixed-wing configurations, can carry more than 40 payload options, and has accumulated over 750,000 flight hours supporting a range of missions.
The demonstration concluded at the Aerosonde Center of Excellence, a 38,000-square-foot facility that serves as Textron Systems’ global logistics and training hub for the Aerosonde family of aircraft. The site supports assembly, testing, and training both in the classroom and on the flight line.
