REDEFINING
VERTICAL
AVIATION
Autonomous quad tilt-rotor UAS engineered for the most demanding military, firefighting, and critical logistics missions on the planet. No pilot. No limits.
MISSION CAPABILITIES
The Apex Series is purpose-built for missions where speed, payload, and hover precision are simultaneously non-negotiable.
Military Logistics
Rapid resupply and troop transport in contested environments. The Pelican's 8,786 lb payload and 9,000 lb sling load hook redefine theater logistics.
Aerial Firefighting
High-speed retardant delivery and precision drop control to active fire lines. Hover capability where fixed-wing aircraft cannot operate — no crew at risk.
SAR & MEDEVAC
Long-range search and rescue with the speed of a turboprop and the hover capability of a helicopter.
Offshore Energy
Autonomous equipment and cargo delivery to offshore platforms in sea states that ground conventional helicopters. No crew exposure to hazardous conditions.
APEX
PELICAN
The Apex Pelican is a 21,500 lb MTOW autonomous hybrid-electric tilt-rotor designed for heavy-lift military logistics and large-scale aerial firefighting. Fully unmanned — no pilot, no cockpit, no crew risk. Three LS427 turbocharged gensets drive 10 YASA axial-flux motors, delivering 3,600 hp continuous to four 20-foot CFRP rotor assemblies.
APEX
PEREGRINE
The Apex Peregrine is a 5,891 lb MTOW autonomous hybrid-electric tilt-rotor UAS powered by a single Nelson LS427 Twin-Turbo genset. Fully unmanned with autonomous FMS and GCS-monitored flight. Two YASA 750R generator motors and four YASA 400 drive motors power four 15-ft swept-tip CFRP rotors, delivering 2,000 lb payload at 250 KTAS with 611 NM range.
APEX
PEREGRINE-E
The Peregrine-E is the pure-electric autonomous military UAS variant of the Peregrine airframe. No pilot. No engine. No exhaust — only rotor blade passage noise. At 500 m in cruise, it produces ~59 dB(A), acoustically undetectable beyond 400 m. Armed with a Dillon Aero M134D-H belly turret and FLIR targeting for autonomous EXFIL/INFIL and suppressive fire support.
TECHNOLOGY EDGE
Hybrid-Electric Propulsion
Turbocharged LS427 gensets charge a Skeleton Technologies supercapacitor buffer. YASA axial-flux motors deliver instant torque with zero transmission lag.
CFRP Rotor System
Swept-tip CFRP rotor blades with hingeless hub design — 20-ft on the Pelican, 15-ft on the Peregrine family. 16-blade configuration per aircraft eliminates vibration and reduces acoustic signature.
Autonomous Flight System
Triple-redundant IMU suite with autonomous mission FMS. Full envelope protection, autonomous hover hold, and GCS-monitored waypoint navigation — no pilot required.
PELICAN + PEREGRINE-E
FORWARD DEPLOYMENT
The Pelican's 9,000 lb sling load hook enables a unique tandem deployment doctrine: a packaged Peregrine-E is slung beneath the Pelican and delivered to a staging point within 100 NM of any objective — no runway, no pre-positioned infrastructure, no advance notice.
Peregrine-E folds into the HR-PKG-001 RDCS container (23.5 × 9 × 6.7 ft) in 5 minutes with a 2-person crew. Total slung weight 4,000 lb — 9,000 lb hook has 5,000 lb residual capacity.
Pelican transits autonomously at 130 KTAS slung / 260 KTAS clean to staging point up to 666 NM from base. GCS operators monitor both aircraft from a single ground station.
Pelican sets RDCS on ground and releases hook autonomously. Dual pyrotechnic release fires — panels fall away, rotors unfold. Peregrine-E is flight-ready in under 3 minutes. No ground crew required.
Peregrine-E transits to objective (100 NM one-way / 200 NM round-trip) at 250 KTAS in near-silence (~62 dB at 300 m). Suppressive fire, exfil/infil, and departure — all within acoustic detection threshold.
JOIN THE MISSION
Helix is seeking strategic partners and investors to accelerate the Apex Series from prototype to FAA certification. A $50M addressable market in military and firefighting rotorcraft awaits.