Caption: The Nomad family is designed to be scalable from 25kg to over 600kg
Less than a year after proving the reliability of a new rotor blown wing vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) Uncrewed Aerial System (UAS), Sikorsky has unveiled its projected family of Nomad aircraft.
The company, which is a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, says the twin proprotor design combines the versatility of a helicopter with the speed and range of a fixed-wing aeroplane. A Nomad aircraft can take-off, hover, and land vertically, plus cruise on the wing for extended periods. Nomads are operated via Sikorsky’s MATRIX autonomy technology and predominantly use hybrid-electric propulsion, while larger variants will feature a conventional drivetrain.
“We use the term ‘family’ to point to a key attribute of the design; its ability to be scaled in size from a small Group 3 UAS to the footprint equivalent of a Black Hawk helicopter” said Rich Benton, Sikorsky vice president and general manager.
The Nomad family can be scaled up from a Group 3 UAS (25kg to 600kg) to Group 4/5 (600kg and beyond). Power is provided by fuel-efficient hybrid-electric drivetrains for the smaller versions, with the larger variants featuring a conventional drivetrain.
Sikorsky announced in March 2025 that it had successfully completed extended flight tests of its prototype Nomad 50 aircraft, which has a 3.1m wingspan. It is now working on the Nomad 100, which has a wingspan of 5.4m. The first flight is expected in the coming months. “Nomad represents new breakthroughs for Sikorsky and the next generation of autonomous, long-endurance drones,” said Dan Shidler, director of Advanced Programs.
PHOTO: LOCKHEED MARTIN
