Overview

• Grid Aero unveiled its full-scale Lifter-Lite prototype on August 18 with a 1,000–7,000 lb payload capacity and approximately 2,000-mile range.
• The startup raised $6 million in seed funding led by Calibrate Ventures and Ubiquity Ventures and secured a Direct to Phase II SBIR award from AFWERX.
• Ground testing is scheduled to start this fall with a possible first flight before the end of 2025 and plans to field aircraft to the U.S. military by 2027.
• The STOL-capable design relies on simple sheet-metal construction, diesel propulsion and networked autonomy to enable mass deployment of attritable cargo assets.
• Defense advisers praise the concept’s promise for distributed logistics but flag uncertainties over certification, sustained performance and scaling to a large fleet.