Vertical Aerospace Adds Northrop Grumman LITEF and ANH Structure to Valo Supplier Roster

Vertical Aerospace is widening the industrial base behind its Valo electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft, confirming long-term supplier deals with two specialists that will furnish cabin seating and flight-critical navigation hardware. The UK developer framed the agreements as another step in its long march from advanced design work toward certification and volume production.

South Korea’s ANH Structure takes on the seating package for Valo’s pilots, observers and passengers. The company will handle design, development, certification and manufacturing of the bespoke seats, which are built around a single common platform intended to serve every cabin layout Vertical offers. Central to the design is ANH’s proprietary 30G energy-absorption technology, aimed at satisfying the aircraft’s combined safety, weight and cabin requirements. ANH already holds both Design Organisation Approval and Production Organisation Approval from the European Union Aviation Safety Agency, credentials that let it carry the seating programme from drawing board through certification and into serial output. Chief executive Hyonsu Ahn said the company was proud to work alongside Vertical on a seating system aligned with the airframer’s goals for passenger safety and a high-end customer experience.

The navigation side goes to Germany’s Northrop Grumman LITEF, which will supply its LCR-110 inertial reference system — equipment that feeds position, attitude and heading data into flight-critical aircraft systems. LITEF points to more than six decades of experience in inertial navigation and reference technology, and says the LCR-110 meets the applicable EASA and US Federal Aviation Administration technical standards for inertial reference equipment. Daniel Martens, who heads the company’s Commercial Aviation Business Unit, said the group brings over 60 years of developing high-integrity inertial systems for demanding aerospace platforms.

The two additions slot into a supplier network that already counts Honeywell Aerospace, Sonaca, Evolito, Hyundai WIA, Syensqo, Isoclima and Astronics among its members. Vertical’s stated strategy is to build a common aircraft platform that can be adapted across multiple configurations and mission types, an approach it expects to simplify certification, manufacturing and in-service support. Valo is being developed as a piloted, four-passenger electric aircraft, with a six-passenger cabin planned alongside electric, hybrid-electric and autonomous variants pitched at both commercial and defence applications.

Vertical has previously disclosed roughly 1,500 pre-orders, with customers including American Airlines, Avolon, Bristow, GOL and Japan Airlines; some of those commitments are expected to be fulfilled through third-party arrangements. While the new agreements settle responsibility for two important systems, the company did not attach a fresh certification or entry-into-service date to the announcement. CEO Stuart Simpson said Valo is progressing from an advanced design into an aircraft backed by the people, systems and industrial capability needed for certification and production at scale, adding that the partnerships further strengthen the supplier ecosystem behind the programme.