Certo Aerospace raises £5m to accelerate Capstone heavy-lift UAS

UK-based drone developer Certo Aerospace has raised £5 million to accelerate its Capstone heavy-lift uncrewed aircraft and expand its design, testing and manufacturing operations in south-west England.

Certo Chief Executive Justin Tooth announced the new equity investment, saying the company will expand operations in Somerset and Wiltshire, create jobs in the region and use the funding to move the 600kg-class Capstone closer to frontline service.

Tooth said the £5 million investment would be directed primarily at expanding Certo’s UK operations and accelerating Capstone.

“We will expand our design, test and manufacturing operations in Somerset and Wiltshire, creating jobs in the South West, and locking in Certo’s entirely-sovereign Intellectual Property for the UK, such as its new heavy-fuel engine,” he said.

The funding came from new and existing shareholders, nearly all of them UK-based organisations and individuals, according to Tooth. Certo has not identified the investors.

The veteran-led UK SME said the investment would also support the retention of sovereign UK intellectual property, including its new heavy-fuel engine, as Capstone moves through further development and systems integration.

“This raise was executed at a valuation which certainly evidenced a substantial growth over the last year in our capabilities and IP,” Tooth said.

He said the round had attracted continued support from existing shareholders as well as new investors joining the company as it works towards “the delivery of a whole new class of airfield-independent aviation technology”.

Silverpeak LLP provided strategic advice to Certo on the transaction.

Investment to expand UK operations

Capstone is an autonomous coaxial vertical take-off and landing aircraft being developed for military logistics, casualty evacuation, maritime operations and humanitarian assistance and disaster relief.

Capstone is now in its fourth year of Civil Aviation Authority-approved flight operations and systems integration evaluations, according to the company.

Certo says the latest funding is intended to move the aircraft closer to operational service, initially with UK and US military forces and later with other allied countries.

The company has already conducted multiple flight trials and evaluations for the UK Ministry of Defence and US defence authorities.

The latest investment follows an earlier £3 million equity raise announced in April 2025, taking Certo’s publicly disclosed equity funding from the two rounds to at least £8 million.

Capstone expands flight testing

The funding comes weeks after Certo completed a four-day flight-test programme with Capstone at WholeShip’s National Drone Hub.

The September trials validated payload, speed, range and endurance, with Certo saying the aircraft demonstrated performance aligned with future operational requirements. The company is also preparing Capstone for beyond visual line of sight operations.

The aircraft uses two counter-rotating main rotors mounted on the same axis rather than the main and tail rotor arrangement used by a conventional helicopter. The configuration allows the aircraft to retain a relatively compact footprint while carrying heavier payloads.

Published figures for a BAE Systems integration configuration give Capstone a maximum payload of 280kg, endurance of up to 10 hours and a maximum range of around 300 miles. Certo has quoted payload capacity of up to 300kg depending on configuration.

The company is positioning the aircraft for missions where vertical lift is required without a runway or crew on board.

Alongside military logistics, Certo lists casualty evacuation, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief and maritime services among the roles being developed for Capstone.

UK defence trials build military role

Capstone has already been tested in a series of UK defence programmes.

Under the Ministry of Defence’s Project MORRIGHAN, the aircraft has demonstrated autonomous logistics and casualty evacuation tasks. These included autonomous take-off, waypoint navigation, descent and precision landing.

The platform has also been used in Royal Navy work involving the carriage of sonobuoys, acoustic processing and data transmission during an anti-submarine warfare demonstration.

Certo is separately working with BAE Systems through FalconWorks, the company’s advanced research and development division, on further military applications for Capstone.

The collaboration includes the British Army’s Project NYX, which is exploring next-generation autonomous aircraft capable of operating alongside AH-64E Apache attack helicopters. The BAE Systems and Certo proposal has been down-selected for the programme.

Tooth said the company sees growing recognition of the performance, operating and cost advantages offered by coaxial VTOL aircraft compared with multirotor and other conventional configurations.