Vertical Aerospace secures Singapore grant for eVTOL air ambulance trials

Vertical Aerospace has secured a proof of concept (POC) grant from Singapore’s Home Team Science and Technology Agency (HTX) to explore how electric vertical aircraft could support emergency medical services (EMS) in remote island environments.

The award comes through Hatch, HTX’s innovation center, as part of the Dimension X Cohort 7 challenge. The funding will support development, testing, and validation of an EMS use case for Vertical’s Valo aircraft platform, a commercial electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft.

The project will examine how electric and hybrid-electric vertical flight could enhance time-critical medical response around Singapore’s outlying islands. Vertical will collaborate with HTX, Hatch, and operational stakeholders to develop a detailed EMS concept of operations aligned with real-world operational and regulatory requirements. The team will also assess medical cabin configurations for patient transport and in-flight care and conduct a POC flight demonstration to evaluate mission feasibility, safety, and response times.

Running through April 2026, the program will include work with the Singapore Home Team to explore how eVTOL and VTOL aircraft could complement existing emergency response systems and potentially improve patient outcomes in critical scenarios.

Vertical was selected through a competitive process highlighting the Valo aircraft’s safety-focused design, flexible cabin layout, and certification strategy. The initiative is seen as a step toward longer-term advanced air mobility (AAM) operations in Singapore, aligned with national efforts led by the Economic Development Board and supported by the Civil Aviation Authority of Singapore.

Vertical recently introduced Valo in New York, with plans for electric air taxi routes.