A vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) aircraft is one that can take off and land vertically without relying on a runway. This classification can include a variety of types of aircraft including helicopters as well as thrust-vectoring fixed-wing aircraft and other hybrid aircraft with powered rotors such as cyclogyros/cyclocopters and gyrodynes.
The AAI RQ-7 Shadow is an American unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) used by the United States Army, Australian Army, Swedish Army, Turkish Air Force and Italian Army for reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition and battle damage assessment. Launched from a trailer-mounted pneumatic catapult, it is recovered with the aid of arresting gear similar to jets on an aircraft carrier. Its gimbal-mounted, digitally stabilized, liquid nitrogen-cooled electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) camera relays video in real time via a C-band line-of-sight data link to the ground control station (GCS).
A tiltrotor is an aircraft that generates lift and propulsion by way of one or more powered rotors mounted on rotating shafts or nacelles usually at the ends of a fixed wing. Almost all tiltrotors use a transverse rotor design, with a few exceptions that use other multirotor layouts.
The Gulfstream G550 is an American business jet aircraft produced by the General Dynamics' Gulfstream Aerospace unit in Savannah, Georgia, US. The certification designation is GV-SP. A version with reduced fuel capacity was marketed as the G500. Gulfstream ceased production of the G550 in July 2021.
The Bell XV-15 is an American tiltrotor VTOL aircraft. It was the second successful experimental tiltrotor aircraft and the first to demonstrate the concept's high speed performance relative to conventional helicopters.
The Bell Helicopter Eagle Eye, Model 918, was an American tiltrotor unmanned aerial vehicle that was offered as one of the competitors in the United States Navy's VT-UAV program.
The Bell X-22 is an American V/STOL X-plane with four tilting ducted fans. Takeoff was to selectively occur either with the propellers tilted vertically upwards, or on a short runway with the nacelles tilted forward at approximately 45°. Additionally, the X-22 was to provide more insight into the tactical application of vertical takeoff troop transporters such as the preceding Hiller X-18 and the X-22's successor, the Bell XV-15. Another program requirement was a true airspeed in level flight of at least 525 km/h.
The Curtiss-Wright X-19, company designation Model 200, is an American experimental tiltrotor aircraft of the early 1960s. It was noteworthy for being the last aircraft of any kind manufactured by Curtiss-Wright.
A miniature UAV, small UAV (SUAV), or drone is an unmanned aerial vehicle small enough to be man-portable. Smallest UAVs are called micro air vehicle.
The Boeing A160 Hummingbird is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) helicopter. Its design incorporates many new technologies never before used in helicopters, allowing for greater endurance and altitude than any helicopter currently in operation.
The Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV) XC-142 is a tiltwing experimental aircraft designed to investigate the operational suitability of vertical/short takeoff and landing (V/STOL) transports. An XC-142A first flew conventionally on 29 September 1964, and completed its first transitional flight on 11 January 1965 by taking off vertically, changing to forward flight, and finally landing vertically. Its service sponsors pulled out of the program one by one, and it eventually ended due to a lack of interest after demonstrating its capabilities successfully.
The IAI Eitan is an unmanned reconnaissance aircraft developed in Israel in the early 21st century by the Malat division of Israel Aerospace Industries. The aircraft is a newer version of the IAI Heron. Along with intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTR), Israeli IAI Eitan also capable of holding armed roles. There are conflicting reports on whether the exported Eitan's are unarmed or armed.
The IAI Harop is a Loitering Munition (LM) developed by the MBT Missiles Division of Israel Aerospace Industries. Loitering munitions are designed to hover or loiter above the battlefield, waiting for targets to be exposed, and attack upon the operator's command.
The Aerial Reconfigurable Embedded System (ARES) was a concept for an unmanned VTOL flight module that can transport various payloads. The concept started as the TX (Transformer) in 2009 for a terrain-independent transportation system centered on a ground vehicle that could be configured into a VTOL air vehicle and carry four troops. ARES' primary function was the same as TX, to use flight to avoid ground-based transportation threats like ambushes and IEDs for units that don't have helicopters for those missions. It was to be powered by twin tilting ducted fans and have its own power system, fuel, digital flight controls, and remote command-and-control interfaces. The flight module would have different detachable mission modules for specific purposes including cargo delivery, CASEVAC, and ISR. Up to 3,000 lb (1,400 kg) of payload would be carried by a module.
IAI-HAL NRUAV is a unmanned rotorcraft project being co-developed by Malat Solutions, a unit of IAI of Israel, and HAL of India for the Indian Navy.
The Vertical Take-Off and Landing Experimental Aircraft program was an American research project sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The goal of the program was to demonstrate a VTOL aircraft design that can take off vertically and efficiently hover, while flying faster than conventional rotorcraft. There have been many previous attempts, most of them unsuccessful as of 2015.
The Tactical Robotics Cormorant, formerly AirMule or Mule, Israel Defense Forces (IDF) codename Pereira, is a flying car unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) built by Tactical Robotics Ltd., a subsidiary of designer Rafi Yoeli's Urban Aeronautics Ltd., in Yavne, Israel. It will be used in search and rescue operations where it is too dangerous or inaccessible for a helicopter, such as evacuating people from the upper stories of burning buildings, or delivering and extracting police and soldiers while very close to structures, narrow streets, or through holes into confined spaces.
The Bell V-247 Vigilant is a concept by Bell Helicopter to develop a large tiltrotor unmanned aerial vehicle.
The Airbus CityAirbus is a multinational project by Airbus Helicopters to produce an electrically powered VTOL personal air vehicle demonstrator. It is intended for the air taxi role, to avoid ground traffic congestion.
