Nomad Family Of Rotor Blown Wing Drones

Nomad Family of Rotor Blown Wing Drones. © Sikorsky

Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company, has introduced its new Nomad™ family of future aircraft, a series of scalable VTOL drones designed for both sea and land operations.

Featuring a twin proprotor layout, Nomad drones combine helicopter-like vertical takeoff, hovering, and landing with the speed and range of fixed-wing aircraft. They are powered mainly by hybrid-electric systems, with larger models using traditional engines, and operate autonomously through Sikorsky’s MATRIX™ technology.

In March 2025, Sikorsky completed extended flight tests of its 10.3-foot wingspan Nomad 50 prototype. The company is now developing the Nomad 100 — an 18-foot wingspan, Group 3 variant expected to take its first flight soon.

Nomad Family of Rotor Blown Wing Drones. © Sikorsky

“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,” said Rich Benton, Sikorsky vice president and general manager. “The resulting Nomad family of drones will be adaptable, go-anywhere, runway independent aircraft capable of land and sea-based missions across defense, national security, forestry and civilian organizations. 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.”