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Sikorsky E-76 Helicopter (technology demonstrator)

Sikorsky S-76D helicopter. (Photo credit Ned Dawson, used with permission.)

(Pictured: S-76D helicopter with a conventional powerplant. Photo credit: Ned Dawson, used with permission.)

E-76 Helicopter (technology demonstrator)
Sikorsky
Stratford, Connecticut, USA
www.lockheedmartin.com/sikorsky

Founded on March 5, 1923, Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company, is an American aircraft manufacturer based in Stratford, Connecticut, USA. Sikorsky was established by aviation pioneer Igor Sikorsky and was among the first companies in the world to manufacture helicopters for civilian and military use. United Technologies Corporation purchased Sikorsky in 1929 and then in November 2015, Sikorsky was sold to Lockheed Martin. (Image credit: Ned Dawson)

March 2023 announcement of HEX aircraft
On March 8 at Heli-Expo 2023 (March 6-9, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia, USA), Sikorsky announced the Sikorsky Innovations rapid prototyping group will design and make what they have named the Hybrid-Electric Demonstrator (HEX), a fully-autonomous passenger hybrid-electric aircraft technology demonstrator.

The MATRIX™ technology autonomy system is an aircraft autonomy system used for both helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft and is designed for flight safety, reliability and efficiency and includes the following abilities:

  • Executes complex missions in low altitude, obstacle-rich environments or in degraded, uncertain conditions
  • Improves system reliability through multi-level contingency management
  • Reduces lifecycle cost and operating cost per flight hour
  • Platform agnostic design supports multiple vehicles enabling mission tailoring

The Sikorsky Innovations rapid prototyping group will be in charge of the HEX helicopter technology demonstrator program and is headed by Director Igor Cherepinsky. The team will responsible to design, build and integrate the MATRIX™ autonomy flight control system into the hybrid-electric passenger aircraft. The prototype will be a flying testbed to evaluate large aircraft design, novel propulsion, control architectures for sustained hover and more.

Sikorsky envisions to create an entire family of scalable autonomous hybrid-electric aircraft for passenger and air cargo transportation missions. The company has also revealed they plan to make these aircraft for both civilian and military use.

E-76 passenger hybrid-electric helicopter technology demonstrator
The E-76 is a planned passenger hybrid-electric helicopter technology demonstrator. The announcement for the company's hybrid-electric helicopter technology demonstrator was made in March 2025. The company states they plan on using a one of its midsize S-76 luxury helicopters as a starting point. A company official stated they want to see what would happen if they take a conventionally powered S-76 helicopter and make it into a hybrid-electric helicopter.

The aircraft will possibly have one test pilot or two, for flight testing the helicopter. There is another possibility the helicopter will have MATRIX autonomous technology in the aircraft and if it does, flight testing will be able to take place without a pilot onboard. The helicopter has four main rotorblades, has one tail rotor (with four rotorblades) and will be powered by a hybrid-electric power source. It is unknown if there will be room inside the helicopter for passengers.

There will potentially be two electric motors powering the rotorblades. One electric motor for the main rotor and one electric motor for the tail rotorblade. However, two electric motors could be used on the main rotoblade as this would increase the lifting power of the helicopter and its secondary function would be for redundancy. The aircraft has retractable tricycle wheeled landing gear.

In the March 2025 E-76 helicopter announcement, Sikorsky stated they are not necessarily planning to convert S-76 helicopters into electric rotorcraft. The company has not released any pictures of the demonstrator.

Specifications:

  • Aircraft type: Passenger hybrid-electric helicopter technology demonstrator
  • Piloting: 1 pilot or autonomous piloting
  • Capacity: Unknown
  • Cruise speed: Unknown
  • Rotorblades: 4 rotorblades
  • Tail rotor: 1 tail rotor with 4 blades
  • Electric motors: 2 or more
  • Power source: Hybrid-electric power source
  • Fuselage: Unknown
  • Windows: Helicopter type windows
  • Landing gear: Retractable tricycle wheeled landing gear
  • Safety features: In case of power failure, the helicopter can autorotate to the ground and land safely. 

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