Elroy Air's Chaparral cargo drone at the Defense Department's Technology Readiness Experimentation Exercise in June 2025. Photo: Elroy Air

Elroy Air on Wednesday said it recently demonstrated three modes of autonomous cargo delivery for the Army using the company’s fixed-wing hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. The demonstration at the company’s California headquarters included two payload drops in a single flight on July 15 of a 68-pound payload in a close-in hover and a 70-pound release from 65 feet during forward flight without personnel required at the delivery points. A separate ground delivery involved the aircraft releasing the payload…