Founded in 2017, AMSL Aero specialises in the design and manufacture of the ‘Vertiia,’ a long-range Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) aircraft. Jack Lloyd writes.
“We founded the company to change the way we transport around Australia,” said co-founder of AMSL Aero and original inventor of the aircraft, Andrew Moore.
Vertiia transitions from vertical take-off – like a helicopter – to efficient wing-borne flight – like an airplane. The hybrid design harnesses the best of both aviation forms to achieve the right balance of performance, speed, and manoeuvrability.
Due to these capabilities, the aircraft can reach speeds of 300 km/h and travel up to 1,000 km while still landing within an area half the size of a tennis court. These advantages make it suited for emergency evacuations, transport, and firefighting.
“Vertiia can fly faster than helicopters whilst still being energy efficient,” said Moore.
Additionally, the aircraft is powered by electrified hydrogen fuel cells, eliminating the need for a gas turbine, cutting operating costs, and ensuring emissions-free transport.
“The electric propulsion means that you don’t have the high maintenance and fuel costs of a gas helicopter turbine,” said Moore.
Discovering an application for such an innovation
The story behind this innovative piece of Australian aerospace starts with Moore, who had an interest in the technology. Prior to the creation of Vertiia, he completed an Aeronautical Engineering degree and had experience within the Australian Navy. Moore’s journey toward the innovative aircraft would only begin when he started focusing on aircraft modifications.
“I started to design medical fit-outs for the Royal Flying Doctor Service and came up with a radical new take that became standard across that industry,” he said.
After this and further experience with Raytheon and Yamaha Motor Company, Moore would pursue a PhD in Electric Aviation, during which time he met an individual who expressed the need for new ways to evacuate soldiers from the battlefield. This demand pushed Moore to innovate.
“I stopped all the work I was doing on conventional aircraft and came up with a concept that I believed would be a world-leading, lighter ambulance for a casualty evacuation,” he said.
“This is where the concept of Vertiia was born.”
Shortly after this, Moore started AMSL Aero with co-founder Siobhan Lyndon. Today, seven years on, the company sits at the leading edge of VTOL development in Australia with signed civil and military orders for the aircraft and a roadmap to deliveries in 2027.
Vertiia has attracted local and international interest from operators that address both critical applications, including casualty evacuation, air ambulance services, emergency response operations, and regional freight and passenger transport over long distances.
“One of the most common potential applications for the aircraft is moving patients from hospital to hospital,” said Moore.
This application is among the most immediate for Vertiia, as the aircraft represents a more cost-effective and efficient method of patient transportation compared to traditional methods.
“In Australia, all hospitals have a helipad for Vertiia, which allows for more efficient use of medical staff. It’s also lower cost than transporting patients on a turboprop aircraft and is a better experience for the patient,” said Moore.
“It can carry four or five passengers and has a 500 kg payload capacity. We also have the capability to sell Vertiia as a remotely piloted application to move cargo and to firefight. You could fight fires at nighttime.”
Ever-evolving manufacturing capabilities
At present, AMSL Aero’s manufacturing capacity is at the highest of the company’s history, meaning that its presence has grown into multiple hangars and even states.
“Most of our main assembly and manufacturing work happens here in Bankstown, Sydney. We also have testing facilities in NSW and VIC,” said Moore.
In what Moore described as a seamless and diverse supply chain, the company employs just under 70 workers who work across design, integration, and assembly.
“We have both an engineering workforce and a technician workforce. We also have support functions that sit around to ensure the team is highly streamlined from design through to manufacturing, assembly, integration, and final flight tests,” said Moore.
While AMSL Aero does the assembly and integration of systems itself, the company outsources the manufacture of many components.
“We use various subcontractors, in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland and South Australia. Most of those components are to our own designs,” said Moore.
Despite a portion of outsourcing, Moore ensures that anything in development from his manufacturing team meets strict requirements.
“We incrementally validate and verify that those requirements are met. You test the component, the system, the assembly, and the whole aircraft,” he said.
“We then run through a ground test regime and then undergo the flight test to prove that it meets our requirements.”
Late last year, Vertiia made Australian aviation history and passed a critical milestone as AMSL Aero successfully completed its first fully autonomous free flight – demonstrating the craft’s ability to fly without a pilot on board.
“Watching Vertiia take to the sky in free flight was a breathtaking experience for our incredible team,” said Moore.
“This landmark is proof that the design we pioneered seven years ago works, moving us closer to our goal of improving the lives of remote, rural and regional communities in Australia.”
The groundbreaking test flight has been followed by more than 100 more successful flights, marking a step toward deliveries that – after numerous landmark contracts were signed last year – are expected by 2027.
The company’s civil contracts included deposits for a total of 26 Vertiia aircraft, including up to 20 from general aviation and regional airline group, Aviation Logistics, which signed a deal to support passenger, freight, and aeromedical services across Australia.
Moore said because of these orders, a key focus for the company going forward is to scale up production capacity.
“We are in the early stages but we’re working closely together to really build it out, and to take advantage of this great long-range hydrogen VTOL aircraft,” said Moore.
Building strategic developmental partnerships
A part of AMSL Aero’s success stemmed from earlier developmental contracts with international partners.
One of these international partners is NZ’s Life Flight, which last year signed a partnership agreement with AMSL Aero to help develop Vertiia for future aeromedical operations in Australasia.
“It’s very exciting to have an international partner who is a keen operator and has great experience within the New Zealand aeromedical market,” said Moore.
AMSL Aero has also ventured into the defence market where it signed an agreement with Hanwha to establish a strategic partnership to develop and scale up production of Vertiia aircraft.
“Hanwha is a global giant when it comes to manufacturing and aerospace. It’s an exciting arrangement where they certainly have the capability to enable us to scale our manufacturing,” said Moore.
Another noteworthy partnership that AMSL Aero established in 2024 was with The Bases Conversion and Development Authority (BCDA) in the Philippines. Moore said this partnership is grounded by the fact that the technology has potential in areas like the Philippines and Indonesia to “change the way their economy functions.”
“Long range VTOL aircraft have the tremendous potential to change fortune within archipelagic nations. Anywhere that is mountainous and has lots of small islands have traditionally been challenged with transport infrastructure,” he said.
“We believe the market opportunity is for the 1000s of aircraft per year, and we are exploring local partners that could help us bring that to fruition.”
Hopes of sparking a sovereign aerospace industry
Going forward, while Moore expressed his excitement for upcoming events within the walls of AMSL Aero – such as developments within the company’s hydrogen system development and certification program – he also made a plea for Australia to start prioritising a sovereign aerospace industry.
“We have an incredibly talented workforce, and we produce great graduates and technicians. Our capability as a nation is incredible. I just don’t think there are as many opportunities as there should be to take advantage of that,” he said.
The company points out that manufacturing in the aviation sector has compound growth benefits that flow into other high-tech sectors and therefore generate wider economic benefits.
Moore said that Australia needs to adopt Sweden’s sovereign approach to its manufacturing industry.
“Australia is heavily reliant on aviation and aerospace for the way that our nation functions. Sometimes I wish we could be a little bit more like Sweden, who can build their own submarines, fighter jets, tanks, and cars,” he said.
“We need to go from importing 40 to 50-year-old aircraft designs from other nations to knuckling down and making our own.”
Despite emphasising potential areas of improvement for the country, Moore finished by identifying trends such as the National Reconstruction Fund that seem to be pushing Australia toward the right direction.
“Manufacturing is a key piece of society and a critical capability, so we need to aspire to be self-reliant. We have all the right starting points, markets, and talent. We just need a little bit more of a risk appetite from a few decision-makers,” said Moore.
“I think as a nation, we are becoming better at recognising how much we can do and how cost-effective we can be in broader aerospace.”
Moore hopes to one day witness a future where Australia embraces its aerospace potential, driving innovation and self-reliance in the industry.