Vertical Aerospace, Honeywell expand partnership on VX4

Vertical Aerospace (EVTL) and Honeywell (HON) announced the signing of a new long-term agreement that expands their existing partnership and reinforces Honeywell’s commitment to the certification and production of Vertical’s electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, the VX4. Under this expanded collaboration, Honeywell and Vertical will work together to certify two of the most critical systems on the VX4 that make it safer and easier to fly: the aircraft management system, which includes the Honeywell Anthem Flight deck, and the flight controls system, which includes Honeywell’s compact fly-by-wire system. Both systems will be certified for the production version of the VX4. The companies will share expertise, personnel and testing environments, which are collectively expected to speed up the VX4’s development and help both companies achieve certification and quickly move to production. As part of its Flightpath 2030 strategy, Vertical intends to certify the VX4 in 2028 and deliver at least 150 aircraft to customers by 2030. The expanded partnership has a potential $1B in projected contract value over the next decade.