Mentioned:SkyRunner
The U.S. Army's XVIII Airborne Corps put the SkyRunner dual-mode flying buggy through field tests at Fort Bragg on Sept. 16, evaluating a vehicle that flies 120 miles and drives 240 miles on a single tank.
What's happening
- The XVIII Airborne Corps evaluated the SkyRunner during Scarlet Dragon 26-3 at Fort Bragg on Sept. 16.
- The vehicle climbs to a maximum altitude of 10,000 feet with a flight range of roughly 120 miles.
- On the ground it can travel up to 240 miles on a tank of fuel and needs about 450 feet of open ground to take off.
- SkyRunner's current retail price runs between $140,000 and $150,000.
Why it matters
- A low-cost, runway-independent aircraft could give units reconnaissance, resupply, and casualty evacuation options in areas without roads or landing strips.
- The Army has not disclosed whether it plans to buy the SkyRunner or set a timeline for further testing, leaving procurement uncertain.
- SkyRunner has pitched the vehicle to military buyers for over a decade, illustrating how long a demo can run before it converts to a contract.
Going deeper
- Soldiers tested the buggy's ability to shift between driving and flying in austere conditions at Holland Drop Zone.
- The vehicle pairs a Polaris engine for ground driving with a Rotax aircraft engine turning a rear-mounted propeller in flight.
- SkyRunner says a new pilot needs about 14 hours of flight instruction before flying solo.
- Scarlet Dragon 26-3 also tested a drone mothership built by Modalic and swarms of small unmanned aircraft launched from a single site.
Financial impact
- The disclosed $140,000 to $150,000 retail price sets the likely per-unit cost baseline if the Army moves toward a purchase, timing not disclosed.
- No contract, obligated funds, or order has been announced, so there is no revenue or backlog impact to record at this stage.
The fine print
- The Army has not disclosed whether it plans to buy the SkyRunner or a timeline for further testing.
- Evaluation is set to continue at Scarlet Dragon 27-1 in April 2027, ahead of the larger Summit Strike exercise at Fort Drum in September 2027.
Source: defence-blog.com · Sep 22, 2026 · Drafted with Claude, reviewed by Industrial Base Alpha.
