Interesting Engineering(@IntEngineering):LeVanta Tech, a defence startup based in Diamondhead, Mississippi, is building HALIA, an uncrewed aircraft that floats motors-off on the open sea, then lifts itself onto three hydrofoils, skates across the surface and takes off without a runway or a catapult. The company says its prototype has demonstrated float, take-off, flight and water landing, with the float-to-airborne transition done in under 60 seconds, while figures such as 30 days on station and 120 nautical miles of range remain modelled targets. It is funded by US Air Force and Navy SBIR Phase II contracts and is covered by a memorandum of understanding signed with Ukraine's defence industry in October 2025.

2026.09.20 23:01

LeVanta Tech, a defence startup based in Diamondhead, Mississippi, is building HALIA, an uncrewed aircraft that floats motors-off on the open sea, then lifts itself onto three hydrofoils, skates across the surface and takes off without a runway or a catapult. The company says its prototype has demonstrated float, take-off, flight and water landing, with the float-to-airborne transition done in under 60 seconds, while figures such as 30 days on station and 120 nautical miles of range remain modelled targets. It is funded by US Air Force and Navy SBIR Phase II contracts and is covered by a memorandum of understanding signed with Ukraine's defence industry in October 2025.