Aerospace engineering firm Horizon Aircraft has announced that it has entered into a binding agreement with its parent company, Astro Aerospace and several of Astro’s key shareholders.

The deal sees Astro agree to sell 100% of the equity of Horizon to the shareholders in exchange for certain Astro public securities and a fraction of the ownership of the newly privatized Horizon.

Horizon, which describes itself as an “innovative leader in hybrid electric Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) aerial vehicles, has built a half-scale prototype of its Cavorite X5 eVTOL and expects hover flights to begin at the end of this month. Type certification and initial deliveries are set for 2026.

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“This mutually beneficial transaction will allow Horizon Aircraft to accelerate development of our highly innovative Cavorite X-series eVTOL aircraft in the private sector with access to more flexible funding mechanisms. Retaining Astro as a key shareholder and partner moving forward represents natural progression of this program that has seen tremendous success over this last year,” Brandon Robinson, CEO of Horizon Aircraft, said,

“Horizon’s progress has been nothing short of outstanding over the last year with several grants, a USAF contract award, and a large-scale prototype ready to fly,” said Astro CEO Bruce Bent, adding that “Astro is grateful to remain a strategic investor and partner as we collectively move towards building a better future.” 

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Horizon Aircraft will continue with rigorous testing of its 50%-scale prototype and detailed design of a full-scale prototype as it pursues the next phases of the AFWERX HSVTOL challenge that could offer up to $35M in non-dilutive financing over the next three years.

The hybrid-electric aircraft is expected to have a range of just over 500 km (312 miles) and speeds of 450 km/h (281 mph).