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The U.S. Air Force’s innovation arm, AFWERX, is turning a page on Agility Prime, the initiative it launched in 2020 to help accelerate development of the commercial electric vertical take-off and landing industry.
An AFWERX spokesperson confirmed to The Air Current that Agility Prime is transitioning to a new program under a new name, Agile Support Prime, but declined to elaborate further. The spokesperson said that AFWERX plans to announce more details before the Air & Space Forces Association (AFA) Warfare Symposium, which kicks off on March 3 in Aurora, Colorado.
Although the shift comes amid the widespread upheaval in the federal government that has followed the second inauguration of President Donald Trump, TAC understands that plans for the transition pre-date the new administration and are reflective of the program’s shifting interests and priorities. Over the past several months, program leaders have indicated in interviews and public appearances that the Air Force is now more interested in hybrid-electric than fully electric aircraft given their potential for superior range and payload capabilities.
Related: Pioneering Air Force eVTOL program looks set to enter new phase
As far back as October 2022, TAC reported that the Air Force under its then-secretary, Frank Kendall, had grown less interested in supporting Agility Prime as a vehicle for indirectly competing with China by ensuring U.S. dominance in the emerging eVTOL sector. That was a major objective of Will Roper, who was the driving force behind the program as Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics during the first Trump administration.
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