Flowcopter
Founded in July 2019, Flowcopter Ltd. is a Scottish aerospace company headquartered at the Edgefield Industrial Estate in Loanhead, near Edinburgh, Scotland. The company emerged as a strategic spin-out from Artemis Intelligent Power and was established by an engineering team that included Peter McCurry, Uwe Stein, Marek Szupryczynski, and Niall Caldwell. The company was created around the concept of applying digital hydraulic technology to aerospace platforms in order to overcome endurance and payload limitations commonly associated with conventional electric drones. Its founders identified the potential for digitally controlled hydraulic propulsion systems to support a new generation of heavy-lift unmanned aerial vehicles capable of operating in demanding environments where traditional rotorcraft missions are costly or high-risk.
Flowcopter operates as a joint venture involving Scotland-based SeaHorse Air and Singaporean drone specialist Evdron. The company’s development strategy has centered on producing relatively low-cost uncrewed alternatives to conventional helicopters for missions such as offshore logistics, humanitarian support, search-and-rescue operations, infrastructure supply, and military resupply in contested environments. Its aircraft concepts emphasize long endurance, simplified maintenance requirements, and the ability to transport heavy payloads over extended distances while operating from austere locations.
A key aspect of the company’s technology is its patented hydraulic digital displacement propulsion system, derived from research originally conducted at Artemis Intelligent Power. Unlike traditional mechanically driven rotor systems or battery-dependent multirotor drones, Flowcopter’s approach uses digitally controlled hydraulics to optimize power delivery and fuel efficiency. The company has promoted this architecture as enabling significantly longer flight endurance and greater lifting capability than many electrically powered UAV platforms in the same class.
Flowcopter reached several important commercial and operational milestones during its early development period. In January 2024, the company secured nearly £1 million in funding support from Scottish Enterprise, increasing its total early-stage investment to approximately £1.9 million. The funding supported expansion of manufacturing capacity, software development, and flight-test activities. By late 2025, the company achieved a major technical breakthrough through Project MORRIGHAN, a program linked to the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence’s jHubMed innovation initiative. During flight trials of the FC-100 heavy-lift UAV, the aircraft successfully demonstrated both underslung and hard-coupled cargo transport configurations. According to reports associated with the trials, the FC-100 established a UK Ministry of Defence record for a single UAV logistics payload delivery, helping position the platform for subsequent operational demonstrations during NATO’s Sabre Strike 2026 exercises in Poland.
Flowcopter operates as a joint venture involving Scotland-based SeaHorse Air and Singaporean drone specialist Evdron. The company’s development strategy has centered on producing relatively low-cost uncrewed alternatives to conventional helicopters for missions such as offshore logistics, humanitarian support, search-and-rescue operations, infrastructure supply, and military resupply in contested environments. Its aircraft concepts emphasize long endurance, simplified maintenance requirements, and the ability to transport heavy payloads over extended distances while operating from austere locations.
A key aspect of the company’s technology is its patented hydraulic digital displacement propulsion system, derived from research originally conducted at Artemis Intelligent Power. Unlike traditional mechanically driven rotor systems or battery-dependent multirotor drones, Flowcopter’s approach uses digitally controlled hydraulics to optimize power delivery and fuel efficiency. The company has promoted this architecture as enabling significantly longer flight endurance and greater lifting capability than many electrically powered UAV platforms in the same class.
Flowcopter reached several important commercial and operational milestones during its early development period. In January 2024, the company secured nearly £1 million in funding support from Scottish Enterprise, increasing its total early-stage investment to approximately £1.9 million. The funding supported expansion of manufacturing capacity, software development, and flight-test activities. By late 2025, the company achieved a major technical breakthrough through Project MORRIGHAN, a program linked to the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence’s jHubMed innovation initiative. During flight trials of the FC-100 heavy-lift UAV, the aircraft successfully demonstrated both underslung and hard-coupled cargo transport configurations. According to reports associated with the trials, the FC-100 established a UK Ministry of Defence record for a single UAV logistics payload delivery, helping position the platform for subsequent operational demonstrations during NATO’s Sabre Strike 2026 exercises in Poland.
