Hanneke Weitering is a writer and editor with AIN covering advanced air mobility and new flight technologies. She became an aviation journalist and joined the AIN team in the summer of 2022 after reporting on spaceflight and astronomy for six years at Space.com. After earning a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, she moved to New York City to pursue a master’s degree in science, health, and environmental reporting at New York University&#039;s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. She is now based in Seattle near Boeing Field and spends her free time exploring nature in the Pacific Northwest.

Science & Technology Editor

Hanneke Weitering

Sikorsky Aircraft has unveiled a family of long-endurance, high-payload uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) that the helicopter manufacturer is offering for defense, national security, and civilian applications.&nbsp;
Known as Nomad, the twin prop-rotor family will feature Sikorsky’s <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/general-aviation/2022-03-07/sikorsky-looks-future-matrix">Matrix autonomy system</a>, which enables optionally-piloted flight in various rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft platforms. Sikorsky, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, developed its Matrix technology for DARPA’s ALIAS (Aircrew Labor In-cockpit Automation System) project, which aims to improve the safety, reliability, and efficiency of both rotary- and fixed-wing aircraft.&nbsp;
“Nomad represents new breakthroughs for Sikorsky and the next generation of autonomous, long-endurance drones,” said Dan Shidler, director of advanced programs at Sikorsky. “We are acting on feedback from the Pentagon, adopting a rapid approach and creating a family of drones that can take off and land virtually anywhere and execute the mission—all autonomously and in the hands of soldiers, Marines, sailors, and airmen.”
While Nomad aircraft will predominantly use hybrid-electric propulsion systems to maximize range, some larger variants will feature conventional drivetrains, according to Sikorsky.
“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 Sikorsky v-p and general manager Rich Benton. (The U.S. Department of Defense classifies Group 3 UAS as those weighing 56 to 1,320 pounds.)
“The resulting Nomad family of drones will be adaptable, go-anywhere, runway-independent aircraft capable of land- and sea-based missions across defense, national security, forestry, and civilian organizations. Nomads are a force multiplier, complementing the missions of aircraft such as the Black Hawk to retain the strategic advantage in the Indo-Pacific and across broader regions.”

A 115-pound demonstrator of Sikorsky’s rotor-blown, tilt-wing tailsitter concept <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/business-aviation/2025-03-10/sikorskys-uas-achieves-major-test-goal">achieved its first transition flights</a> in March. The aircraft is designed to take off and land vertically on the thrust from wing-mounted propellers before transitioning to wing-borne cruise flight.
According to Sikorsky, the Nomad aircraft family is well-suited for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance missions, as well as contested logistics, light attack drones, search-and-rescue, and maritime patrol.&nbsp;
The company is now building a full-scale demonstrator of what it calls the Nomad 100, a Group 3 UAS with an 18-foot wingspan. It expects to achieve a first flight in the coming months.

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