Electra has chosen Springfield, in Clark County, Ohio, as the site for its first production facility for the EL9 Ultra Short, a nine-passenger hybrid-electric aircraft that uses blown-lift technology to take off and land in as little as 150 feet.

The $850 million facility will be built at AirPark Ohio, adjacent to Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport, and is expected to create 1,975 jobs. The 96-acre site was chosen following a year-long national evaluation of more than 140 locations, with criteria including workforce availability, infrastructure readiness and proximity to aerospace and defence talent. Design work will begin immediately, with construction starting next year. The initial phase will support production of up to 400 aircraft a year, with a second phase expanding capacity to 800 a year.

Marc Allen, chief executive of Electra, says: “This agreement is the moment that our vision moves from demonstration into reality.” Ohio Governor Mike DeWine adds: “Electra’s decision to bring nearly 2,000 new jobs to Springfield will be transformative for Clark County.”

The Dayton-Springfield region hosts the National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence and the SkyVision detect-and-avoid system, which supports beyond visual line of sight flight testing, and sits close to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the Air Force Research Laboratory. Electra will continue to operate from its existing Manassas, Virginia facilities alongside the new Ohio site.

The EL9 Ultra Short has been submitted to the FAA for Part 23 type certification, and the agency has closed the G-1 Issue Paper establishing the certification basis. First flight is targeted for late 2027 or early 2028. The programme is backed by a $115 million Series B round led by Prysm Capital, a life-of-programme agreement with Safran Helicopter Engines covering an initial 250 TG600 turbogenerators, and a pre-delivery payment agreement with Bristow Group securing the first delivery slot.