Bristow Group has signed a purchase agreement with Electra.aero for five EL9 ultra short takeoff and landing hybrid-electric aircraft plus options for an additional 45 aircraft and placed a multi-million-dollar pre-delivery deposit to secure the first delivery slot.
The agreement converts an earlier letter of intent into a binding agreement, subject to aircraft certification. The five aircraft are scheduled for delivery in the EL9’s first year of production.
Manassas, Virginia-based Electra said the EL9 will be capable of carrying nine passengers with baggage or up to 3,000 pounds of cargo over a range of about 330 nautical miles. The aircraft is designed to take off and land in as little as 150 feet, allowing operations from locations such as short runways, remote fields, and other constrained sites that are inaccessible to most fixed-wing aircraft.
Bristow plans to use the EL9 to support a range of advanced air mobility services, including corporate transportation, airline feeder operations, resort access, and government and public-service missions. The company said the aircraft will complement its existing helicopter operations by moving passengers and cargo between regional hubs, reducing travel times while expanding access to communities with limited aviation infrastructure.
The aircraft will allow Bristow to combine airplane and helicopter operations on the same routes, moving passengers and cargo more efficiently. The company operates complex missions for offshore energy customers, national search-and-rescue programs, and government agencies, and has increasingly focused on combining aircraft types to improve efficiency and coverage.
The agreement stands out in the advanced air mobility sector, where many announced orders rely on non-binding reservations or limited upfront payments. In contrast, Bristow said the pre-delivery payments require Electra to meet defined performance and delivery milestones.
“It is a standard industry deposit for aircraft,” said Dave Stepanek, Bristow Executive Vice President and Chief Transformation Officer, in comments to Reuters. He said the company deliberately avoided equity-based arrangements in favor of a traditional buyer-seller relationship.
Electra applied for FAA type certification for the EL9 in December 2025, marking a major step toward commercial entry into service. The company positions the aircraft between battery-electric air taxis and traditional regional turboprops, targeting missions that require short-field access without sacrificing payload or range.
Bristow and Electra began working together in 2021, when Bristow signed a pre-order agreement for the EL9. The new purchase agreement replaces that earlier framework with firm delivery slots and binding commercial terms.
Electra was founded to develop hybrid-electric aircraft capable of operating without conventional airports while maintaining the safety margins and range expected in commercial aviation. The company’s leadership team includes engineers and executives with experience across more than 40 certified aircraft programs. Electra lists Lockheed Martin Ventures, Honeywell, and Safran among its strategic investors, along with government and institutional backers. Its customers include NASA and multiple US military branches.
Bristow traces its roots back more than 70 years and has grown into a global aviation services provider operating across offshore energy, government services, and fixed-wing transportation. The company operates in more than a dozen countries and is best known for its large helicopter fleets supporting offshore oil production and national search-and-rescue contracts. In recent years, Bristow has expanded into unmanned systems and next-generation aircraft as part of a long-term sustainability and diversification strategy.
Bristow also has orders in place for other advanced aircraft, including Beta Technologies’ all-electric Alia, though it has not disclosed any of the financial terms of that agreement.