Echodyne, a radar platform company, has entered into a strategic agreement with and received a minority investment from Supernal, the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) company of Hyundai Motor Group. Supernal is working on an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) vehicle, with plans to launch commercial flights by 2028. The partnership between Echodyne and Supernal aims to explore ways to utilize Echodyne’s industry-leading radars to improve safety for Supernal’s eVTOL vehicle as well as ground-based operations.
“Echodyne offers unique radar-based detection capabilities that Supernal can utilize in Advanced Air Mobility development,” said Ben Diachun, Supernal’s Chief Technology Officer. “Resilient and powerful radar aids airborne situational awareness to improve safety in the air.”
The collaboration between Echodyne and Supernal, will cover various aspects of the AAM ecosystem, including onboard systems for in-flight situational awareness and ground-based solutions for better operational clarity in dense airspace such as vertiports, flight areas, and corridors. In the air, Echodyne’s radar will provide all-weather airspace monitoring for advanced vehicles like Supernal’s eVTOL in the near-term, and potentially for automated applications in the future. On the ground, the radar will provide situational awareness data that complements the airborne radar, further enhancing safety and surpassing products in its weight class. Through this partnership, Echodyne and Supernal aim to help the fast-developing AAM industry achieve the highest aviation industry safety standards.
“Supernal is reimagining airborne mobility with the same ‘safety above all’ mentality we have here at Echodyne,” said Eben Frankenberg, CEO of Echodyne. “As their team continues to shape the future of the Advanced Air Mobility market, we are pleased Supernal recognizes the value of radar as they track towards market entry. The AAM market is another long-term global market where we have a significant technology advantage and this partnership demonstrates our intention to remain a significant contributor to airspace safety solutions across the industry.”
Echodyne serves customers across the defense, national security, critical infrastructure protection, uncrewed aircraft systems, and advanced air mobility markets worldwide. Its commercial radars, built on proprietary metamaterials electronic scanning array (MESA®) technology, are U.S. designed, manufactured and globally available under U.S. Commerce Department export control regulations.
