Hybrid-electric aviation company Electra has unveiled a new conceptual aircraft design for next-generation airliners developed as part of NASA’s AACES (Advanced Aircraft Concepts for Environmental Sustainability) 2050 program. The study explores how targeted electrification, advanced aerodynamics, and integrated airframe-propulsion design can transform the efficiency and competitiveness of aircraft with 100+ passenger capacity by mid-century.

The company said its focus is on new electric propulsion technologies that enable new aircraft architectures and ultra-short takeoff and landing, as well as a new Direct Aviation point-to-point travel model it developed, designed to bypass major congested airports. Electra’s AACES 2050 concept features a future airliner configuration designed to improve efficiency while remaining compatible with real-world airline and airport operations.

The conceptual aircraft uses a wide double-bubble fuselage that allows the body of the aircraft to generate more lift, while two underwing turbofan engines produce thrust and electricity to power electric tail fans that ingest and re-energize slower-moving air over the fuselage, a technique known as boundary-layer ingestion. Electra said its analysis found the configuration could deliver up to a 17% efficiency improvement beyond gains expected by 2050 from advanced structures, engine technologies, and aerodynamic improvements.

“The value of electrification in this concept is that it lets us put the propulsion where it couldn’t go before but does the most good,” said Parker Vascik, Director of Product Strategy at Electra. “We can radically improve how the airframe and propulsion system work together while keeping the aircraft grounded in real airline and airport operations. The goal is not just efficiency on paper, but concepts that we can actually build, certify, and use.”

Electra said its concept is designed to fit within existing airport gates and airline operations, use standard jet fuel or sustainable aviation fuel, and avoid reliance on airport charging infrastructure or untested fuel types. The configuration also supports a twin-aisle cabin layout within a narrowbody aircraft class, unlocking improved passenger comfort and more efficient boarding and deplaning.

The work on the AACES 2050 concept was led by Alejandra Uranga, Electra’s Chief Engineer for Research and Future Concepts. Uranga previously co-led NASA-sponsored research at MIT that helped advance the original double-bubble aircraft concept and D8 aircraft design. Electra’s AACES 2050 work revisits that architecture with new capabilities enabled by electrification and distributed propulsion.

“This concept builds on years of research into how airframe shape and propulsion placement can work together to improve aircraft efficiency,” said Uranga. “What is different now is the ability to use electrification and distributed propulsion to more deeply integrate those systems. Designing the aircraft as a whole system is essential to realizing the full potential of future commercial aircraft.”

In addition to the concept, Electra developed 11 technical papers documenting the models, methods, and findings behind the study. The company also adopted NASA’s open-source Aviary multidisciplinary design and optimization tool and developed an electrified aircraft design suite intended for public use. Together, these contributions are intended to help advance the broader aviation research community, not just push forward a single aircraft concept.

Electra’s AACES 2050 team brought together leaders across industry and academia, including American Airlines, Honeywell Aerospace, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works, Hinetics, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Department of Aeronautics and Astronautics, the University of Michigan Department of Aerospace Engineering, and the University of California, Irvine’s Aircraft Systems Laboratory.

“Through AACES, NASA is pushing the industry to think boldly, to use our novel propulsion technologies, to unconstrain design thinking for the next generation of commercial aviation,” said Marc Allen, CEO of Electra. “The third era of aviation will bring radical change to how people and places connect, whether applied to aircraft entering service this decade, future regional platforms, or commercial transport by mid-century. Electra’s focus as the hybrid electric leader is to keep American aviation and NASA leading the way.”

NASA’s AACES 2050 program is designed to examine aircraft concepts and technologies that could help shape commercial aviation in the 2040s, 2050s, and beyond. Electra’s concept adds a near-term electrification pathway to that broader portfolio of aircraft studies, complementing other approaches focused on advanced propulsion, new fuels, and next-generation aircraft architectures.

“Electra’s aircraft concept gives American industry a chance to lead now by combining decades of research in lifting-fuselage design with breakthrough electric propulsion,” said Vascik. “Yet industry will not bring this concept to maturity by 2050 on its own. That will require a NASA-accelerated technology initiative—in a double-bubble X-plane, multi-megawatt integrated generator, and kilovolt-class power distribution—to bring these capabilities to maturity by 2035 and position industry to carry them into service by 2050.”

Based in Manassas, VA, Electra was launched in 2020 by aerospace entrepreneur John Langford along with key technical advisors and MIT professors John Hansman and Mark Drela. The company has already achieved significant milestones, including an $85 million strategic funding partnership from the U.S. Air Force in 2023 to develop and test electric short take-off and landing (eSTOL) technology.

Electra’s piloted technology demonstrator aircraft, the EL2 Goldfinch, took to the skies for the first time in November 2023. In July 2024, Honeywell agreed to supply safety-critical flight control computers and actuation for Electra’s production Ultra Short aircraft. Honeywell also became a strategic investor in Electra alongside existing partners Lockheed Martin and Safran.

Earlier this year, Electra and Bristow Group signed a Pre-Delivery Payment (PDP) deposit agreement with binding terms and conditions securing the first delivery slot for Electra’s EL9 Ultra Short hybrid-electric aircraft.

 

Other AACES contributors

In addition to Electra, NASA commissioned others from industry and academia to develop transformative aircraft designs, propulsion technologies, and sustainability solutions for commercial aviation as part of its AACES 2050 program. Earlier this month, they also presented on their contributions to the effort at AIAA Aviation 2026.

Boeing’s Aurora Flight Sciences, presented on AACES technology identification, prioritization, and roadmapping as well as fleet level scenario assessment of future aircraft concepts. The Georgia Tech Aerospace Systems Design Laboratory provided an initial assessment of the liquefied-natural-gas Athena aircraft concept. JetZero presented on a stability-driven preliminary blended wing body design with foresight for hydrogen fuel adoption and on multidisciplinary design optimization for aero shape and LH2 tank integration. Pratt & Whitney presented on its HySIITE (Hydrogen Steam Injected, Inter-cooled Turbine Engine) concept.