Vertical Aerospace, Honeywell expand partnership to bring VX4 eVTOL to market

Vertical Aerospace announced the signing of a new long-term agreement that expands their existing partnership and reinforces Honeywell’s commitment to the certification and production of Vertical eVTOL aircraft, the VX4. Under this expanded collaboration, Honeywell and Vertical will work together to certify two of the most critical systems on the VX4 that make it safer and easier to fly: the aircraft management system, which includes the Honeywell Anthem Flight deck, and the flight controls system, which includes Honeywell’s compact fly-by-wire system. Both systems will be certified for the production version of the VX4.

Stuart Simpson, CEO of Vertical Aerospace commented: “As we accelerate toward global certification and scalable production, Honeywell’s aerospace expertise and proven track record in flight-critical systems make it the ideal partner for this next phase. By integrating production-ready technologies, we’re helping build an aircraft that meets the highest safety standards in aviation, solidifying its certifiability and exportability across global markets.”

David Shilliday, Vice President and General Manager of Advanced Air Mobility at Honeywell Aerospace Technologies stated: “We have long believed in the importance of advanced air mobility and the significant potential we can unlock by harnessing our deep expertise in integrated avionics and flight controls in new and exciting ways. With a shared commitment to innovation, reliability and safety, we’re excited to deepen our partnership with Vertical to help scale the technology necessary to bring even more advanced, efficient, safe and reliable solutions to the skies.”

The Anthem flight deck is essentially the brains of the VX4, combining cockpit displays, software, controls, and connectivity into one smart, digital platform. It is designed to be intuitive and highly automated, helping pilots make better, faster decisions. The fly-by-wire system is technology that allows the aircraft to be controlled electronically instead of mechanically, helping to improve stability, safety, and ease of flight.

Vertical and Honeywell will be certifying these systems to the highest safety standards of 10-9 as set by the UK Civil Aviation Authority, which is collaborating with EASA on VX4 validation. Certifying to 10-9 means a catastrophic system failure rate of one in a billion flight hours -- the same standard as commercial airliners. Meeting this safety standard exceeds the targeted standards announced by some of Vertical’s competitors and is intended to make the VX4 the most exportable and certifiable eVTOL globally.

Companies will share expertise, personnel and testing environments, which are collectively expected to speed up the VX4’s development and help both companies achieve certification and quickly move to production. As part of its Flightpath 2030 strategy, Vertical intends to certify VX4 in 2028 and deliver at least 150 aircraft to customers by 2030. The expanded partnership has a potential $1 billion in projected contract value over the next decade1.

The agreement builds on Vertical’s and Honeywell’s six-year relationship, during which time the two companies have closely collaborated to address the challenges of advanced air mobility. Together, the companies have leveraged Honeywell’s flight systems in the VX4 prototype programme, including in two separate flight test campaigns, the latest of which is due to commence piloted wingborne flight tests soon. Honeywell is also a long-standing investor in Vertical, having invested in the company since 2021.

Vertical selects new Honeywell inceptors

As part of the expanded partnership, Vertical has also selected newly designed Honeywell inceptors for its production aircraft. The VX4 pilot will use two of these state-of-the-art hand controllers to maneuver the aircraft by providing inputs to the flight control computer. The inceptor gives pilots more precise, intuitive control, which helps create a safer, easier-to-fly aircraft – key elements for scaling operations and gaining regulatory approval. Vertical and Honeywell are working together to finalise the optimal configuration to meet Vertical’s needs.

Rich DeGraff, President, Control Systems, Honeywell Aerospace Technologies said: “We designed our inceptor to be the lightest and most compact in the industry, and we could not be happier that Vertical is the launch customer for this new technology. Our inceptor will pair seamlessly with the Honeywell Compact Fly-by-Wire system already selected by Vertical, and we’re excited to work together to integrate these advanced flight technologies into the VX4.”