• Textron Systems’ Aerosonde UAS completed what it called the first commercial-airspace UAS flight using vertiports for takeoff and landing.
• Demonstration supported Virginia’s Advanced Air Mobility Smart Airspace program with MAAP at Virginia Tech, an FAA-designated UAS test site.
• Aerosonde Mk. 4.7 VTOL flew nearly 150 nautical miles from Blacksburg, Virginia, to Textron Systems’ Aerosonde Center of Excellence in Blackstone.
• Flight lasted about 2.5 hours, highlighting vertiport-to-vertiport operations for advanced air mobility research.

Disclaimer: This news brief was created by Public Technologies (PUBT) using generative artificial intelligence. While PUBT strives to provide accurate and timely information, this AI-generated content is for informational purposes only and should not be interpreted as financial, investment, or legal advice. Textron Inc. published the original content used to generate this news brief on September 22, 2026, and is solely responsible for the information contained therein.