SkyDrive, a Japan-based eVTOL aircraft manufacturer, has signed a Letter of Intent (LOI) with Tohoku Air Service—a helicopter operator owned by Tohoku Electric Power Company—to purchase one of its SKYDRIVE SD-05 eVTOL aircraft. The planned delivery of the aircraft is targeted for 2028.
Through this agreement, Tohoku Air Service aims to explore the benefits of eVTOL technology, such as quieter flight operations, reduced acquisition and maintenance costs, and greater operational flexibility. The aircraft is expected to support a variety of use cases, including sightseeing flights, passenger and cargo transport, as well as specialized missions like medical services and disaster response.
The company views this initiative as a way to enhance safety, reliability, and comfort in regional transportation and contribute to improving overall quality of life in the region.
This LOI also represents a milestone for SkyDrive, as it is its first agreement with a Japan-based helicopter operator for the purchase of its aircraft.
Background to the Agreement and Plans for Ongoing Collaboration
SkyDrive is developing eVTOLs with the mission of “leading a once-in-a-century mobility revolution”. Our goal is to make simple and convenient air travel a regular part of city life. During 2025, over a period of around six weeks, SkyDrive successfully showcased demonstration flights of the “SKYDRIVE” (SkyDrive Model SD-05) both at the Expo 2025 Osaka and at a second vertiport within the city of Osaka. Having conducted further demonstration flights in Tokyo during February 2026, we are working towards our next major milestone: commercial operations in 2028.
Tohoku Air Service was established as a helicopter operator in 1991 as a member of the Tohoku Electric Power Company group of companies. At its founding, the company was able to leverage the more than 38 years of power line inspection experience gathered by its parent company, and since then, for more than 30 further years, TAS has helped support the maintenance and development of electricity infrastructure, principally through the operation of the helicopters used for airborne power line inspections and the transportation of cargo to mountainous and other locations difficult to reach by road and rail. With a firm emphasis on safety, the work of TAS supports the development of the entire Tohoku region.
Through the agreement with SkyDrive, TAS will now be able to apply the knowledge it has accumulated through long years of experience in helicopter operation to the operation of eVTOL, with the aim of building sustainable transport systems to serve regional cities and contributing to the growth of regional economies through the effective use of this next-generation mobility technology.
TAS will thoroughly examine the functionality, safety, infrastructure requirements, and operational feasibility of eVTOL services with the goal of working together with SkyDrive to establish a multi-use operational model that can respond flexibly to the diverse needs of the market.
Comment from Tohoku Air Service President Shigeyuki Ouchi
Signing of this Letter of Intent with SkyDrive as a step towards the purchase of one “SKYDRIVE” (SkyDrive Model SD-05) lets us advance our concrete investigations into the real world operation of this next-generation technology. We will conduct a detailed confirmation of the functionality, safety, and infrastructure requirements, to assess the operational feasibility of eVTOL services from multiple perspectives. Working together with SkyDrive, the only company in Japan developing an eVTOL, allows us to feed the operational knowledge we have built through our helicopter operations into the development of SkyDrive’s aircraft. We also plan to develop a multi-use operating model that can serve the people of the Tohoku Region and Niigata Prefecture in various ways including the provision of tourism services, regional transport routes, medical services and post-disaster relief. These services will contribute to the regional economy and help create a safe, secure and comfortable urban environment.
Comment from SkyDrive CEO Tomohiro Fukuzawa
I am truly delighted that Tohoku Air Service has been able to sign this Letter of Intent with SkyDrive as a step toward the future purchase of one of our aircraft. SkyDrive, guided by our mission of leading this once-in-a-century mobility revolution, is focused on the development and entry into service of a viable eVTOL aircraft. Through demonstration flights at the Osaka Expo, Osakako Port and Tokyo Bay, we have steadily validated the technical capabilities and operational possibilities of our aircraft, and we are now moving into an important phase that will lead through to the start of service in 2028. This agreement with Tohoku Air Service, a company with more than three decades of experience in providing air transport services to customers in Tohoku, is a significant step for SkyDrive. The LOI will deliver a major contribution toward establishing and maintaining a sustainable transport ecosystem based on multifunctional eVTOL operation in Tohoku, with these operations covering various fields including sightseeing flights, regional transportation, and post-disaster relief services. Together, we will continue working to deliver new value to regional communities through air mobility, creating new opportunities for people and industry that can help the region further expand its potential.
