Pivotal has signed an Other Transaction Authority (OTA) contract with the U.S. Air Force and AFWERX Agility Prime.
The two-year contract provides Pivotal with access to test facilities, expert resources and multiple sites under restricted airspace.
This support from the USAF and collaborating DoD entities accelerates Pivotal’s uncrewed and crewed flight testing and system verification. Accelerated test campaign completion on the Helix platform improves the timing and potential for operational deployment of Pivotal’s light eVTOL aircraft.
Ken Karklin, Pivotal CEO, said; “This OTA (Other Transaction Authority) Contract with the USAF is our first direct-to-government contract and only our second DoD related transaction. We see this as a strong vote of support for the mission potential of Pivotal’s technology. Not only are we going to advance the capabilities of our patented tilt-aircraft architecture through this relationship, we are going to accelerate the establishment of the Helix’s airworthiness and see its utility demonstrated in a range defense of missions.”
Karklin added; “Agility Prime is providing Pivotal access to the kind of world-class testing capabilities unmatched anywhere and perfectly suited to accelerate development of light eVTOL technology and its resulting mission capabilities for the force. Ultimately, this delivers better commercial outcomes for us, better capabilities outcomes for the DOD end-user, best value for the taxpayer, and gets us all there faster.”
”Providing expertise, logistical support, and essential government test resources exemplifies Agility Prime’s goal to collaborate with industry partners to support the advancement of the commercial eVTOL sector, which could provide new mission-relevant capabilities to our warfighters,” said Lt Col John Tekell, AFWERX Agility Prime Branch Chief.
