Jaunt Air Mobility's MAV55 Multi-Mission Air Vehicle is one of 35 challengers selected, from the initial 218, remaining in the AFWERX High Speed Vertical Takeoff and Land (HSVTOL) Concept Challenge. The challenge is in partnership with the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Special Operations Command.

Jaunt Air Mobility's patented slow rotor compound (SRC) technology aims to bring its capabilities to the military using a single main rotor for hover, takeoff and landing. Jaunt claims that its SRC is a series of technologies that slows the rotor as the forward airspeed increases and the wings take on the lift reducing drag, noise, and vibration, it produces a lift to drag ratio 5x better than a helicopter.

Jaunt has completed three Small Business Technology Transfer (STTR) contracts for the Agility Prime Office of AFWERX via contracts through the Air Force Research Laboratory. These contracts covered Extreme Fast Charging, Advanced Manufacturing of thermoplastics, and acoustics. It worked with BAE Systems, Qarbon Aerospace, Continuum Dynamics and a number of universities and colleges to assist in designing a large-scale fast-charging system; to validate and quantify the benefits of using thermoplastics for large-scale structures in the manufacturing process of this aviation segment and to validate the Journey aircraft acoustic profile.

"The High Speed AFWERX Concept Challenge and STTRs allow companies like Jaunt to work in partnership with the military to develop the next generation of aviation technology," says Martin Peryea, CEO of Jaunt Air Mobility. It is currently developing an all-electric VTOL for the Urban Air Mobility market based on the same SRC technologies.

"Having worked within USSOCOM in Rotary Wing Special Operation Forces during my military service, our team fully understands the mission requirements of infiltration and exfiltration, personnel recovery, aeromedical evacuation, and tactical mobility, at jet-like speeds. These are the core fundamentals we applied in designing the MAV55. Still, we've also added the elements of lower acoustic signatures and minimal downwash in hover operations," states Jesse Crispino, Chief Operations Officer for Jaunt Air Mobility.

Among the 35 remaining challengers for AFWERX HSVTOL Concept Challenge are Astro Aerospace with Cavorite X5 eVTOL, Jetpack Aviation with The Speeder, Advanced Tactics and Rotor X with The Barracuda and The Albers Group with Vortex.