The combined forces of escalating geopolitical tension and increasing defense budgets encourage many manufacturers of electric vertical take -off and landing (EVTOL) to undertake a bilateral approach to build their aircraft: equipped vehicles for personal or commercial taxes and untreated vehicles designed for vehicles, intended
Air, a startup based in Israel, developed Evtols, thought it was wise to adopt such an approach from the beginning, designing both its detached and piloted planes with the same frame and basic systems so that it could develop both for use at one time.
The company is currently offering a piloted Evtol Craft, Dubbed Air One, for personal use and a tied Evtol, intended for freight, disputed logistics and defense applications. Following its first shipping on EVTOL freight at the end of 2023, the company provided over 2500 pre -orders for its pilot personal aircraft, Air One and plans to send 15 Evtols loads this year.
To upgrade this inertia, Air recently raised $ 23 million in a series of funding, led by Entrée Capital, with the participation of existing supporter Dr. Schmuel Harlap, an early investor at Mobileye. The new capital will be used to scathing your production facility in Israel, hire additional employees and support the expansion of the company to the US, CEO and co -founder Rani Plaut in front of TechCrunch in an interview.
Serie A funding comes after a recent US executive order promoting the development of local drones and EVTOL, as well as an update to the FAA Mosaic rule, which extends the certification roads.
The freight aircraft of the company, which is currently in operation, does not require full -type certification and flies into experimental flying certificates (EAC) for logistics and dual use missions, according to PLAut. EAC is issued on planes that are under development, testing or for research purposes. They allow the aircraft to fly under strict conditions and restrictions.
“Our start -up client flies under an experimental flying certificate, which will be converted into a” type “certificate after Uncrewed Evtol has completed the certification process,” he said.
Certification of the type means that the aircraft meets all applicable safety and regulation standards and can be manufactured and operated on a commercial network. EAC does not “convert” automatically to certificates entry; Air is likely to use its EAC to test its prototype while working through the type of type certification process.
Air, meanwhile, is expecting a two -month -old, Air One pilot to qualify for light sports aircraft (LSA) under the new mosaic rules. Airplanes certified as LSA are limited to flying outside the tightly populated areas and far from controlled airspace.