Sikorsky, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, has introduced its Nomad line of long-endurance, runway-independent drones.
The announcement follows Sikorsky’s demonstration of flight efficiency and reliability in a new rotor blown wing vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) uncrewed aerial system less than 12 months ago.
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The Nomad aircraft features a twin proprotor configuration, which allows for vertical take-off, hovering, and landing, as well as fixed-wing cruising for prolonged periods.
According to Lockheed Martin, Nomads are controlled using Sikorsky’s Matrix autonomy technology. Developed by Sikorsky Innovations and DARPA as an open system, Matrix enables integration with both rotary and fixed-wing aircraft.
The drones primarily utilise hybrid-electric propulsion systems, whereas the larger variants will be outfitted with conventional drivetrains.
In March 2025, Sikorsky completed an extended flight test of the prototype Nomad 50 aircraft, which has a wingspan of 10.3ft.
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By GlobalDataThe firm is currently constructing Nomad 100, an 18ft wingspan Group 3 drone, with its first flight planned in the near future.
The Nomad family is designed to operate across all-weather conditions for tasks such as reconnaissance, light attack, and contested logistics.
The drones are intended for deployment by defence agencies, homeland security, forestry services and civilian organisations.
The platform’s scalability enables use in Group 3 through Group 4/5 classifications, ranging from 56lb to more than 1,320lb.
Sikorsky vice president and general manager Rich Benton said: “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.
“The resulting Nomad family of drones will be adaptable, go-anywhere, runway independent aircraft capable of land and sea-based missions across defence, national security, forestry and civilian organisations.
“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.”
