Sikorsky HEX 4-Rotor Tiltwing (concept design)

HEX 4-Rotor Tiltwing (concept design)
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: Sikorsky)

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.

February 2024 HEX hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft concept designs revealed
On February 24 at Heli-Expo 2024 in Anaheim, California, USA, Sikorsky revealed three concept designs for their Hybrid-Electric Demonstrator (HEX) autonomous passenger VTOL aircraft program. The aircraft will not have an option to be piloted manually. The aircraft will have a turboshaft engine with a one-megawatt class generator and associated power electronics developed by GE and flight and motor controls under Sikorsky's Matrix autonomy management system program.

HEX autonomous passenger hybrid-electric VTOL 4-rotor tiltwing concept design aircraft
The HEX is an autonomous passenger hybrid-electric VTOL 4-rotor tiltwing concept design aircraft. While very few specifications of the four rotor aircraft have been revealed, we do know the aircraft is expected to be fully autonomous and will not be able to be flown manually by a pilot inside the aircraft.

The concept design aircraft has four rotors and four electric motors attached to its one high main tilt-wing. Wings on any hybrid-electric or electric VTOL aircraft will increase the range of the aircraft. The aircraft can be used for intercity travel, intracity travel, rural travel, ship-to-shore missions and flying to remote locations. The fuselage is made from carbon fiber composite for a high strength to low weight ratio. The aircraft has one convention T-tail with retractable tricycle wheeled landing gear.

There are redundancies of critical components in the sub-systems of the aircraft providing safety through redundancy for its passengers or cargo. Having multiple redundant systems on any aircraft decreases having any single point of failure. The company predicts this aircraft architecture will provide a quieter flight experience, save on production and operating costs, provide sustainable flight, reduce mechanical complexity and improve flight safety.

Future
Sikorsky reported they have already successfully flown sub-scale proof of concept VTOL aircraft. The company intends to fly the HEX technology demonstrator in 2027, depending on propulsion system test bed (PSTB) lessons learned. The company foresees their next-gen family of hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft to be used for advanced air mobility (AAM), air cargo and UAS (unmanned air systems) for commercial and military applications.

Specifications:

• Aircraft type: Autonomous hybrid-electric passenger VTOL 4-rotor tiltwing concept design aircraft
• Piloting: Autonomous
• Capacity: Unknown
• Cruise speed: Unknown
• Propellers: 4 rotors
• Electric motors: 4 electric motors
• Power source: Hybrid-electric power source
• Fuselage: Carbon fiber composite
• Window: Canopy over cockpit
• Wings: 1 high main tiltwing
• Tail: 1 conventional T-tail
• Landing gear: Retractable tricycle wheeled landing gear
• Safety features: There are redundancies of critical components in the sub-systems of the aircraft providing safety through redundancy for its passengers or cargo. Having multiple redundant systems on any aircraft decreases having any single point of failure.

Related Aircraft:

• Sikorsky Firefly (technology demonstrator) (defunct)
• Sikorsky HEX 2-Rotor Tiltwing (technology demonstrator)
• Sikorsky HEX Helicopter (concept design)
• Sikorsky VERT (concept design)

Company Insights:

• Crunchbase
• MarketWatch
• Pitchbook
• Tracxn

Resources:

• Sikorsky website
• Sikorsky Facebook
• Sikorsky Twitter
• Sikorsky YouTube Channel
• Lockheed Martin Instagram
• Sikorsky Instagram (Archived account, the last post was in 2016.)
• Lockheed Martin LinkedIn
• Sikorsky LinkedIn
• Sikorsky Innovations web page
• Sikorsky Matrix™ Technology web page
• Sikorsky Black Hawk helicopter web page
• Article: Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, date unknown
• Article: Sikorsky Launches ‘Matrix™’ Autonomous Flight Program, Aviation International News Online, Aug. 12, 2013
• Article: Sikorsky unveils autonomy research program called Matrix™ Technology, Vertical Magazine, Aug. 13, 2013
• Article: Sikorsky's Matrix™ Technology Program Launches Phase 2 of Flight Test Activities, PR Newswire, Feb. 26, 2014
• Video: Sikorsky SARA Demonstration Flight, Lockheed Martin, Apr. 14, 2016
• Video: Sikorsky Completes DARPA ALIAS Phase 1 Autonomous Flight, Lockheed Martin, May 31, 2016
• Article: What is it like to fly a helicopter with a tablet?, Vertical Magazine, Apr. 9, 2019
• Video: Sikorsky and DARPA Fly OPV Black Hawk With Supervised Autonomy, Lockheed Martin, Mar. 29, 2021
• Article: ALIAS equipped Black Hawk helicopter completes first uninhabited flight, Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Feb. 8, 2022
• Video: First Uninhabited Black Hawk Flight, Lockheed Martin, Feb. 8, 2022
• Article: Safe, Reliable, and Uninhabited: First Autonomous BLACK HAWK® Helicopter Flight, Sikorsky, Feb. 8, 2022
• Video: Sikorsky and DARPA Autonomous Black Hawk Flies Logistics and Rescue Missions Without Pilots on Board, Lockheed Martin, Nov. 2, 2022
• Article: Sikorsky and DARPA Demonstrate Future Battlefield Logistics Missions with Autonomous Utility Helicopter, Sikorsky, Nov. 2, 2022
• Article: Sikorsky to enter the AAM race with new hybrid-electric VTOL, Vertical Magazine, Dec. 2, 2022
• Article: Sikorsky and GE to fly hybrid-electric demonstrator in 2026, Flight Global, Mar. 7, 2023
• Article: Sikorsky long-range hybrid-electric VTOL demonstrator to inform future military and commercial missions, Vertical Magazine, Mar. 7, 2023
• Article: Sikorsky Seeks To HEX eVTOL Competitors, Aviation International News Online, Mar. 7, 2023
• Article: New eVTOL Prototype Called HEX to Teach Sikorsky More Tricks on Autonomous Flying, Autoevolution, Mar. 8, 2023
• Article: Sikorsky details plans for new family of hybrid eVTOL aircraft, Vertical Magazine, Mar. 8, 2023
• Article: Sikorsky HEX Takes Shape, Aviation International News Online, Feb. 27, 2024
• Article: Sikorsky looks to future family of VTOL systems, Vertical Magazine, Feb. 27, 2024
• Article: Sikorsky Reveals HEX Tiltwing Demonstrator Configuration, Aviation Week, Feb. 28, 2024
• Article: Sikorsky to develop family of tilt rotors, RotorHub International, Feb. 28, 2024