Swift Engineering: the company and the aircraft that made its name
Won on debut
Swift began on the racetrack. Founded in 1983 as Swift Racing Cars by David Bruns, Alex Cross, R. K. Smith and Paul White, it built the DB-1 Formula Ford, which won the SCCA national championship in its very first race. More than 100 were sold within 18 months. In 1991 the firm was bought by Hiro Matsushita, a former IndyCar driver and grandson of Panasonic founder Konosuke Matsushita, who renamed it Swift Engineering and took it into CART, where Swift chassis scored four wins.
From IndyCar to airframes
From 1997 the company turned its composites skills to aerospace, working for Northrop Grumman, Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky and NASA. In 2002 it delivered the Killer Bee blended-wing UAV, later sold to Northrop Grumman as the Bat. In 2007 Swift built the prototype Eclipse 400 single-engine jet under contract, in secrecy at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility; it flew on 2 July 2007. From 2015 it built a large part of the airframe of the Sikorsky–Boeing SB-1 Defiant.
The drone that touched 55,904 feet
Its own aircraft are drones. The Swift020, an electric VTOL machine that takes off like a quadcopter and cruises on a 4-metre wing, flew fully autonomously in Kobe, Japan, on 21 July 2018, and was commercialised as the Swift Crane. The solar-electric Swift Ultra Long Endurance (SULE) high-altitude drone first flew from Spaceport America in 2020 and on 29–30 September 2024 reached 55,904 feet during a 24-hour flight.
Swift Engineering in numbers
公司
- 简而言之
- Founded 1983
- Started as Swift Racing Cars
- Owned by Hiro Matsushita since 1991
- Aerospace work since 1997
生产
- 最出名的是
- 杀人蜂、雨燕鹤、SULE
- More than 500 racing cars built
- Prototype Eclipse 400 jet, 2007
- SB-1 Defiant airframe structures
今天
- 现在
- Drones and composites
- SULE stratospheric UAS reached 55,904 ft in 2024
- Joint venture Swift Xi in Kobe since 2018
这些数字
- Racing cars built
- more than 500
- SULE altitude reached
- 55,904 ft2024
- CART results
- 4 wins, 24 podiums from 182 entries
Every notable Swift Engineering aircraft
| 飞机 | 角色 | 首航 | 建造 | 地位 | 笔记 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Swift Killer Bee | Blended-wing tactical UAV | Sold to Northrop Grumman and renamed Bat in 2009 | |||
| Eclipse 400 (prototype) | 单引擎超轻型喷气式飞机 | 2007 | 1 | 已退休 | Built by Swift under contract to Eclipse Aviation at Wallops |
| Swift020 / Swift021 / Swift Crane | Electric VTOL fixed-wing UAS | 2018 | 生产中 | Date is the first fully autonomous demonstration, Kobe | |
| Swift Ultra Long Endurance (SULE) | High-altitude long-endurance UAS | 2020 | 55,904 ft on 29–30 September 2024 |
Swift Engineering aircraft in the world’s air forces
1 air forces in the Order of Battle fly or flew Swift Engineering types. 其中1家目前还有一台在役。.
| 空军 | 在服役 | 以前飞过 |
|---|---|---|
| 巴哈马皇家国防军空军联队 | Swift Engineering 无人机（Swift 020/021） |
Where Swift Engineering built, who led it, what it achieved
人们
- Hiro Matsushita · chairman and CEO — Former racing driver; bought Swift in 1991
- David Bruns · co-founder and designer — Designed the DB-1 Formula Ford
纪录和第一
- SULE reached 55,904 ft above mean sea level on a 24-hour flight from Spaceport America, 29–30 September 2024
Swift Engineering, year by year
Founded as Swift Racing Cars; DB-1 wins on debut
Bought by Hiro Matsushita and renamed Swift Engineering
Enters CART and diversifies into aerospace
Killer Bee UAV delivered
Eclipse 400 prototype built by Swift first flies
Killer Bee line sold to Northrop Grumman as the Bat
Joins Sikorsky–Boeing SB-1 Defiant team
Swift020 flies fully autonomously in Kobe
SULE first flight from Spaceport America
SULE climbs to 55,904 ft
Everything people ask about Swift Engineering
Who owns Swift Engineering?
Did Swift Engineering build the Eclipse 400?
What is the Swift SULE?
Does Swift still build racing cars?