Malloy Aeronautics
A New Zealand inventor’s Star Wars-style hoverbike turned into a family of heavy-lift drones that now carry ammunition, blood and even torpedoes for British, American and Ukrainian forces.
Malloy Aeronautics: the company and the aircraft that made its name
The hoverbike that became a drone
The Malloy story starts with a machine that looked like a prop from Star Wars. In 2006 the New Zealand inventor Chris Malloy began developing the Hoverbike, a single-seat quadcopter with four propellers in hooped nacelles that could carry 130 kg at 96 km/h. He moved to Britain, set up at White Waltham airfield west of London, and in 2013 founded Malloy Aeronautics to develop it. The Hoverbike went to the 2015 Paris Air Show, and the US Department of Defense paid for a derivative, the Joint Tactical Aerial Resupply Vehicle.
Resupply by robot
The armed forces liked the idea more than the seat. Malloy shifted to unpiloted electric heavy-lift drones, the T-series, built to fly supplies over the last mile to troops. In 2020 its T80 and T150 won a US Navy fly-off ahead of rivals including Bell. The Royal Marines used T150s from ship to shore, and in July 2021 six of them formed the UK’s first military drone swarm, delivering ammunition and blood to commandos. Output jumped from 12–15 drones in 2021 to nearly 200 in 2023, and staff grew from 30 to 90.
Torpedoes, bridges and BAE
Bigger models followed. The T-650, unveiled with BAE Systems at DSEI in 2021, was shown carrying a Sting Ray torpedo, and a T600 dropped one during a NATO exercise in Portugal in 2023. T150s supplied by Britain flew blood and munitions to Ukrainian marines on the Dnieper, and in 2026 Ukrainian forces reportedly used them to place 1.5 tonnes of explosives under a bridge in occupied Kherson region. In 2024 BAE Systems bought the company outright and folded it into its FalconWorks division.
Malloy Aeronautics in numbers
A empresa
- Resumidamente
- Founded 2013
- Founded by New Zealand inventor Chris Malloy
- Began at White Waltham airfield; now based in Maidenhead
- US partner SURVICE Engineering builds and markets the drones in Maryland
- Acquired by BAE Systems in 2024
Produção
- Mais conhecido por
- T150 drone
- T-series electric heavy-lift drones: T80, T150, T400, T600, T650
- Nearly 200 drones produced in 2023
- Payloads from 30 kg (T80) to 300 kg (T650)
Hoje
- Agora
- Parte da BAE Systems
- Orders from the US Navy and Marine Corps and the Royal Marines
- Used in combat resupply in Ukraine
- Royal Navy carrier group deployment with 700X Naval Air Squadron announced in 2025
Os números
- Drones produced
- nearly 2002023
- Drones produced
- 12–152021
- Funcionários
- about 902023
- US Navy and Marine Corps order
- about 200 Tactical Resupply Vehicles2023
- Royal Marines order
- 22 T150s2024
Every notable Malloy Aeronautics aircraft
| Aeronave | Papel | Primeiro voo | Construído | Status | Observação |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Malloy Hoverbike | Single-seat VTOL quadcopter | Aposentado | Shown at the 2015 Paris Air Show; basis of the US JTARV prototype | ||
| Malloy T80 | Light resupply drone | Em produção | 30 kg payload; Royal Navy man-overboard trials | ||
| Malloy T150 | Tactical resupply drone | Em produção | 68 kg payload; in service with US and UK forces and used in Ukraine | ||
| Malloy T400 | Heavy-lift drone | Em produção | 180 kg payload; British Army casualty-evacuation trial in 2022 | ||
| Malloy T600 | Heavy-lift drone | Em produção | 200 kg payload; released a Sting Ray torpedo in 2023 | ||
| Malloy T650 | Heavy-lift drone | Em produção | 300 kg payload; developed with BAE Systems |
Malloy Aeronautics aircraft in the world’s air forces
1 air forces in the Order of Battle fly or flew Malloy Aeronautics types. Um deles ainda tem um em serviço.
| Força Aérea | Em serviço | Anteriormente voado |
|---|---|---|
| Fleet Air Arm | Malloy T-150 (BAE Systems) |
Where Malloy Aeronautics built, who led it, what it achieved
Fábricas
- Maidenhead · Maidenhead, Berkshire — Headquarters
- SURVICE Engineering (partner) · Belcamp, Maryland, USA — Builds and markets the drones in the United States
Pessoas
- Chris Malloy · founder, inventor of the Hoverbike
- Neil Appleton · chief executive
Recordes e pioneirismos
- Six T150s formed the UK’s first military drone swarm, July 2021
- Drone servicing of a wind turbine at Hornsea Wind Farm for Ørsted in 2023, described as a world first
Malloy Aeronautics, year by year
Chris Malloy begins developing the Hoverbike
Malloy Aeronautics founded
US Department of Defense contract for the JTARV Hoverbike derivative; Hoverbike at the Paris Air Show
T80 and T150 win a NAVAIR fly-off; Royal Marines trial T150s from ship to shore
Six T150s fly the UK’s first military drone swarm
T-650 unveiled at DSEI with a Sting Ray torpedo
US Navy and Marine Corps order around 200 Tactical Resupply Vehicles
T600 releases a Sting Ray torpedo in Exercise REP(MUS), Portugal
Acquired by BAE Systems; Royal Marines order 22 T150s
T150s reportedly used by Ukrainian forces to demolish a bridge in occupied Kherson region
Everything people ask about Malloy Aeronautics
Who owns Malloy Aeronautics?
What is the Malloy T150?
What was the Malloy Hoverbike?
Has Ukraine used Malloy drones?
Around Malloy Aeronautics
Todos os fatos foram verificados.
Verificado em 03/10/2026.