FBH Series
200 to 500 kg, and no runway
The FBH Series is a family of fuel-powered tandem-rotor VTOL aircraft, built for the cargo that sits between a delivery drone and a cargo plane. Four sizes on one airframe, from 80 kg to 1,000 kg, landing on a twenty-metre square of flat ground. The second generation first flew in May 2026.
The 200–500 kg gap
Battery drones stop at around 200 kg and rarely clear 100 km before the packs need swapping, and they do worse the higher you go. A six-seat general aviation aircraft will take 1,700 kg, but it wants 800 metres of runway and an airport to keep it at. Twin-turboprop cargo UAVs sit in the millions to buy and well over a thousand US dollars an hour to fly.
Between those two is a band almost nobody mass-produces for. Two hundred to five hundred kilograms, a few hundred kilometres, off a patch of flat ground.
That band is the entire company.
Band
Aircraft
Max payload
Runway needed
Under 20,000 m
Trunk-line cargo aircraft
23,000 kg
2,400 m
Under 10,000 m
Regional cargo aircraft
9,000 kg
1,200 m
Under 6,000 m
General aviation
1,700 kg
800 m
Under 3,000 m
Heavy-payload VTOL — FBH Series
200–1,000 kg
None
Under 300 m
Delivery drones
200 kg
None
Under 120 m
Last-mile drones
5 kg
None
The runway column is the one to read. Everything above the highlighted row needs somewhere to land that somebody built on purpose.
Two rotors, no tail
A single-rotor helicopter spends part of its engine on a tail rotor that lifts nothing at all. The tail rotor exists to stop the aircraft spinning, and that is its whole job. Put a second lifting rotor back there instead and that power goes into the load — roughly 40% more of the engine’s output ends up doing useful work, which is why the tandem-rotor layout has been carrying awkward things into awkward places since 1962 and has never really been replaced.
It is also unpleasant to build. The shaft linking the two rotors runs more than ten metres and has to stay true under load; the flight controller has to cancel the aerodynamic interference between the front and rear rotors on a millisecond loop. Sixty years of that engineering is a wall.
Centre-of-gravity tolerance is the part people underrate. A tandem rotor will hold a hover with the load hanging well off centre, which for a cargo aircraft means it does not care very much how the pallet was packed.
We inherited the layout and rebuilt everything behind it for autonomous flight.
Core capabilities
What the aircraft does
Five things decide whether an aircraft in this class is worth operating: what it lifts, how far it goes, what it burns, where it can work, and how much of the flying it does itself.
Here is where the FBH Series lands on each.
What it carries
200 to 500 kg on the standard models, with the wider line running from 80 kg to 1,000 kg. Enough for a pallet of cold-chain produce, a mining gearbox, or a supply drop for a cut-off village.
How far
Up to 500 km with no payload, cruising at 120 km/h, on a large-capacity fuel tank rather than a battery pack. Endurance at a given weight is a conversation, not a headline number.
A car engine, deliberately
The second-generation airframe runs a proven automotive engine, and that is the whole cost argument — parts, servicing and mechanics already exist wherever you are flying. The first generation used an aviation engine and still does where the mission calls for one.
Where it works
Full payload at up to 5,000 metres, which matters more in western China and across island chains than the number suggests. To land it you need a level square about 20 metres on a side. No runway, no approach lighting, no fuel bowser waiting.
Flying itself
Redundant flight control, obstacle avoidance across more than one sensing mode, terrain mapping and automated navigation. Single- or twin-engine configuration depending on the risk profile of the route.
What it flies for
One airframe. The mission kit is what changes.
Agriculture
Plant protection over blocks a tractor cannot get onto — around 330 hectares a day for sowing, fertilising and spraying, with a downwash strong enough to push spray under a dense canopy. The same aircraft carries produce down off mountain terraces on the way back.
Emergency response
Flood, wildfire and earthquake all remove the roads first. Thermal and multispectral sensing reads a fire’s position and temperature as it moves, and we have flown suppression canisters that are released from altitude and burst just above the fire, spreading agent across the front — demonstrated, not yet a service.
Logistics
Supply runs, mobile signal sources, riverbank reinforcement and aerial patrol, with auto-swing damping and automated flight to set load and unload points. Several aircraft can be dispatched together as a cargo fleet.
Mapping
Terrain capture with an 8K camera and AI recognition, producing high-resolution maps and 3D models for land management, construction planning and environmental monitoring. The payload margin leaves room for LiDAR or multispectral sensors when the survey needs them.
One airframe, four sizes
FBH-300 PRO went commercial in 2018 on an aviation engine. The second generation moved to an automotive engine and first flew in May 2026. The line runs 80, 300, 500 and 1,000 kg; the standard 300 and 500 kg models do most of the work. Cold-chain modules, industrial lifting platforms and emergency configurations all sit on the same airframe.
Fuel first, hydrogen later
We are not building a battery aircraft. Energy density is the whole problem at this payload, and a pack heavy enough to fly 500 km is a pack too heavy to carry anything. So the propulsion path starts with fuels that already work and moves as each step earns it.
2018
FBH-300 PRO, aviation engine, in commercial service
2026
FBH-300, automotive gasoline engine, prototype verified in flight
2028
Diesel — the endurance step, for logistics and fire work
2030
Hydrogen blend, then pure hydrogen
Technical specification
The figures below are the ones that hold across missions. Everything that moves with the job — take-off weight, endurance at your payload, fuel capacity, control-link range — we go through on a call, because the honest answer depends on the route.
FBX-149
| Rated payload | 80 kg |
| Airframe | Tandem twin-rotor VTOL |
| Propulsion | Fuel-powered piston |
| Status | Product line |
| Maximum range (no payload) | — |
| Cruise speed | — |
| Service ceiling at full payload | — |
| Operating altitude band | Below 3,000 m — standard low altitude |
| Runway required | None — vertical take-off and landing |
| Minimum landing area | 20 × 20 m of level ground |
| Flight control | Redundant flight-control system |
| Engine configuration | Single- or twin-engine, selected by the risk profile of the route |
| Obstacle avoidance | Multi-modal sensing |
| Autonomy | AI-assisted flight control and navigation |
| Current fuel | Gasoline |
| 2028 | Diesel — raises energy density for long logistics and fire-suppression legs |
| 2030 | Hydrogen blend, then pure hydrogen |
| Cargo | Standard cargo bay; cold-chain cargo module |
| Lifting | Industrial lifting platform for sling loads |
| Public safety | Emergency response variant |
| Infrastructure | Smart vertiports and refuelling stations |
| Fleet | Cloud-based fleet management and dispatch |
| Support | Full-lifecycle maintenance programme |
| On request | Maximum take-off weight, airframe dimensions, rotor diameter, endurance at rated payload, fuel capacity, wind-resistance rating, control-link range and positioning accuracy. We go through these on a call so the figures match the mission. |
FBH-300 PRO
| Rated payload | 300 kg |
| Airframe | Tandem twin-rotor VTOL |
| Propulsion | Aviation piston engine |
| Status | In commercial service since 2018 |
| Maximum range (no payload) | — |
| Cruise speed | — |
| Service ceiling at full payload | — |
| Operating altitude band | Below 3,000 m — standard low altitude |
| Runway required | None — vertical take-off and landing |
| Minimum landing area | 20 × 20 m of level ground |
| Flight control | Redundant flight-control system |
| Engine configuration | Single- or twin-engine, selected by the risk profile of the route |
| Obstacle avoidance | Multi-modal sensing |
| Autonomy | AI-assisted flight control and navigation |
| Current fuel | Gasoline |
| 2028 | Diesel — raises energy density for long logistics and fire-suppression legs |
| 2030 | Hydrogen blend, then pure hydrogen |
| Cargo | Standard cargo bay; cold-chain cargo module |
| Lifting | Industrial lifting platform for sling loads |
| Public safety | Emergency response variant |
| Infrastructure | Smart vertiports and refuelling stations |
| Fleet | Cloud-based fleet management and dispatch |
| Support | Full-lifecycle maintenance programme |
| On request | Maximum take-off weight, airframe dimensions, rotor diameter, endurance at rated payload, fuel capacity, wind-resistance rating, control-link range and positioning accuracy. We go through these on a call so the figures match the mission. |
FBH-300
| Rated payload | 300 kg |
| Airframe | Tandem twin-rotor VTOL |
| Propulsion | Automotive-derived hybrid piston |
| Status | Prototype verified in flight, May 2026 |
| Maximum range (no payload) | 500 km |
| Cruise speed | 120 km/h |
| Service ceiling at full payload | 5,000 m |
| Operating altitude band | Below 3,000 m — standard low altitude |
| Runway required | None — vertical take-off and landing |
| Minimum landing area | 20 × 20 m of level ground |
| Flight control | Redundant flight-control system |
| Engine configuration | Single- or twin-engine, selected by the risk profile of the route |
| Obstacle avoidance | Multi-modal sensing |
| Autonomy | AI-assisted flight control and navigation |
| Current fuel | Gasoline |
| 2028 | Diesel — raises energy density for long logistics and fire-suppression legs |
| 2030 | Hydrogen blend, then pure hydrogen |
| Cargo | Standard cargo bay; cold-chain cargo module |
| Lifting | Industrial lifting platform for sling loads |
| Public safety | Emergency response variant |
| Infrastructure | Smart vertiports and refuelling stations |
| Fleet | Cloud-based fleet management and dispatch |
| Support | Full-lifecycle maintenance programme |
| On request | Maximum take-off weight, airframe dimensions, rotor diameter, endurance at rated payload, fuel capacity, wind-resistance rating, control-link range and positioning accuracy. We go through these on a call so the figures match the mission. |
FBH-500
| Rated payload | 500 kg |
| Airframe | Tandem twin-rotor VTOL |
| Propulsion | Hybrid aviation piston |
| Status | Product line |
| Maximum range (no payload) | 500 km |
| Cruise speed | 120 km/h |
| Service ceiling at full payload | 5,000 m |
| Operating altitude band | Below 3,000 m — standard low altitude |
| Runway required | None — vertical take-off and landing |
| Minimum landing area | 20 × 20 m of level ground |
| Flight control | Redundant flight-control system |
| Engine configuration | Single- or twin-engine, selected by the risk profile of the route |
| Obstacle avoidance | Multi-modal sensing |
| Autonomy | AI-assisted flight control and navigation |
| Current fuel | Gasoline |
| 2028 | Diesel — raises energy density for long logistics and fire-suppression legs |
| 2030 | Hydrogen blend, then pure hydrogen |
| Cargo | Standard cargo bay; cold-chain cargo module |
| Lifting | Industrial lifting platform for sling loads |
| Public safety | Emergency response variant |
| Infrastructure | Smart vertiports and refuelling stations |
| Fleet | Cloud-based fleet management and dispatch |
| Support | Full-lifecycle maintenance programme |
| On request | Maximum take-off weight, airframe dimensions, rotor diameter, endurance at rated payload, fuel capacity, wind-resistance rating, control-link range and positioning accuracy. We go through these on a call so the figures match the mission. |
FBH-1000
| Rated payload | 1,000 kg |
| Airframe | Tandem twin-rotor VTOL |
| Propulsion | Hybrid aviation piston |
| Status | Product line |
| Maximum range (no payload) | — |
| Cruise speed | — |
| Service ceiling at full payload | — |
| Operating altitude band | Below 3,000 m — standard low altitude |
| Runway required | None — vertical take-off and landing |
| Minimum landing area | 20 × 20 m of level ground |
| Flight control | Redundant flight-control system |
| Engine configuration | Single- or twin-engine, selected by the risk profile of the route |
| Obstacle avoidance | Multi-modal sensing |
| Autonomy | AI-assisted flight control and navigation |
| Current fuel | Gasoline |
| 2028 | Diesel — raises energy density for long logistics and fire-suppression legs |
| 2030 | Hydrogen blend, then pure hydrogen |
| Cargo | Standard cargo bay; cold-chain cargo module |
| Lifting | Industrial lifting platform for sling loads |
| Public safety | Emergency response variant |
| Infrastructure | Smart vertiports and refuelling stations |
| Fleet | Cloud-based fleet management and dispatch |
| Support | Full-lifecycle maintenance programme |
| On request | Maximum take-off weight, airframe dimensions, rotor diameter, endurance at rated payload, fuel capacity, wind-resistance rating, control-link range and positioning accuracy. We go through these on a call so the figures match the mission. |
FBX-149
|
FBH-300 PRO
|
FBH-300
|
FBH-500
|
FBH-1000
|
|
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Series & Configuration | |||||
| Rated payload | 80 kg | 300 kg | 300 kg | 500 kg | 1,000 kg |
| Airframe | Tandem twin-rotor VTOL | ||||
| Propulsion | Fuel-powered piston | Aviation piston engine | Automotive-derived hybrid piston | Hybrid aviation piston | Hybrid aviation piston |
| Status | Product line | In commercial service since 2018 | Prototype verified in flight, May 2026 | Product line | Product line |
| Performance | |||||
| Maximum range (no payload) | — | — | 500 km | 500 km | — |
| Cruise speed | — | — | 120 km/h | 120 km/h | — |
| Service ceiling at full payload | — | — | 5,000 m | 5,000 m | — |
| Operating altitude band | Below 3,000 m — standard low altitude | ||||
| Take-off & Landing | |||||
| Runway required | None — vertical take-off and landing | ||||
| Minimum landing area | 20 × 20 m of level ground | ||||
| Flight Control & Safety | |||||
| Flight control | Redundant flight-control system | ||||
| Engine configuration | Single- or twin-engine, selected by the risk profile of the route | ||||
| Obstacle avoidance | Multi-modal sensing | ||||
| Autonomy | AI-assisted flight control and navigation | ||||
| Fuel & Propulsion Roadmap | |||||
| Current fuel | Gasoline | ||||
| 2028 | Diesel — raises energy density for long logistics and fire-suppression legs | ||||
| 2030 | Hydrogen blend, then pure hydrogen | ||||
| Mission Configurations | |||||
| Cargo | Standard cargo bay; cold-chain cargo module | ||||
| Lifting | Industrial lifting platform for sling loads | ||||
| Public safety | Emergency response variant | ||||
| Ground Ecosystem | |||||
| Infrastructure | Smart vertiports and refuelling stations | ||||
| Fleet | Cloud-based fleet management and dispatch | ||||
| Support | Full-lifecycle maintenance programme | ||||
| Supplied With The Technical Brief | |||||
| On request | Maximum take-off weight, airframe dimensions, rotor diameter, endurance at rated payload, fuel capacity, wind-resistance rating, control-link range and positioning accuracy. We go through these on a call so the figures match the mission. | ||||
Specifications come with a phone call
The table above is what holds across missions. Take-off weight, endurance at your payload, fuel capacity and control-link range all move depending on what you are flying and where, so we go through those on a call rather than in a brochure. Tell us the weight, the distance and how often, and someone from the team calls you back.
