BETA completes two new US Air Force deployments

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BETA Technologies

BETA Technologies has completed deployments with two Major Commands of the US Air Force to evaluate potential military applications.

These deployments with the Air Combat Command (ACC) and the Air Mobility Command (AMC) are the third and fourth military exercises BETA has conducted this year with the Department of Defense. The military wants to validate electric aviation’s applications for military missions such as cargo delivery, critical resupply and personnel transport.

“Operating alongside active and reserve units of the Air Force and being tasked with missions in real time has allowed us to grow our understanding of and prove our capabilities to execute real-world missions,” a spokesperson for BETA told us. 

The first deployment took BETA’s Alia CTOL aircraft on several cross-country flights from Burlington International Airport to Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center (CRTC) in Alpena, Michigan. The week-long exercise, known as a contingency location operations rehearsal (CLOR), saw  BETA complete more than 24 flight hours transporting over 2,200 lbs of cargo —up to 500 lbs at a time. 

The aircraft delivered various supplies including critical medical equipment, executed a a simulated medical evacuation mission between operational bases and filled a logistics gap created by a cancelled C-130 airlift.

“Over the past few exercises we have been able to move real cargo, loading more and more weight, ultimately carrying up to 500 lbs of necessary cargo and supplies,” said the spokesperson. “It’s been a great opportunity to highlight the reliability and cost-savings of this technology, as we were able to dispatch ALIA at a 100% rate when called upon by the Air Force – and we did it at a lower fuel cost than traditional aircraft.”

Last Tuesday, July 9, BETA participated in a demonstration for AMC, conducting a series of flights between Dover Air Force Base in Dover, Delaware and McGuire Air Force Base in Burlington County, New Jersey. The firm also brought its portable charging solution onsite as part of the exercise 

The day-long course saw Alia complete five successful flights between Dover and McGuire Air Force bases cutting the journey time by 60% or more versus driving by road. The aircraft delivered various multi-hundred-pound loads filled with calibrated Precision Measurement Equipment Laboratory.

“It brings key innovation to the mission. It’s going to make things faster and simpler,” said Alyxandra Scalone, 305 Maintenance Squadron Production Controller. “Dover is about two and a half hours away from us. Today’s flight only took 45 minutes.”

BETA’s spokesperson is confident both the CTOL and VTOL versions the company is developing will be very applicable to a wide range of DoD use cases. “Use cases range from asset repositioning and cargo resupply to personnel transport and medical missions, which have all been validated with our CTOL aircraft in partnership with DoD. The VTOL aircraft, with its runway independence, will unlock additional, location-specific capabilities where conventional aircraft cannot operate.”

In the journey between the USAF exercises, BETA flew Alia to Springfield, Ohio where UPS pilot Eric Bergesen conducted a qualitative evaluation flight. Then the company flew into Virginia to simulate customer routes, before landing at Atlantic City International Airport (ACY) where along with the FAA, AMC, National Aerospace Research & Technology Park (NARTP), Atlantic Cape Community College, and the Atlantic County Economic Alliance (ACEA), hosted a flight demo event.

BETA continues to progress its CTOL and VTOL aircraft toward FAA certification, anticipating entry into service in 2025 and 2026, respectively. Late last year, the company opened the doors to its 188,500sqft aircraft production facility in South Burlington, Vermont, where it will begin manufacturing aircraft.

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