Whisper Aero has unveiled new details of its JetFoil propulsion concept, a distributed electric ducted fan system designed to give aircraft short or near-vertical takeoff capability without exposed rotors or tilting propulsors.
The company presented the update during SAE International’s AeroTech 2026 event in West Palm Beach, Florida, where Whisper Aero co-founder and CEO Mark Moore received the 2026 AIAA F.E. Newbold V/STOL Award.
The award recognizes Moore’s work in VTOL and STOL technologies, including distributed electric propulsion, eVTOL aircraft and advanced air mobility.
Whisper’s JetFoil concept embeds electric ducted fans into the leading edge of a wing. The system uses upper surface blowing and the Coanda effect to redirect airflow over the wing and flap system, allowing the aircraft to generate high lift at very low forward speeds.
Whisper said its electric ducted fans produce uniform flow with more than 95% turning efficiency at 90 degrees of flow turning.
The company says the design could support conventional, short, vertical, or near-vertical takeoff operations using the same basic aircraft configuration.
Whisper has positioned JetFoil as an alternative to aircraft that rely on large exposed rotors, tilting propulsors, or separate lift systems to achieve vertical or short takeoff performance.
The system does not appear to offer a pure helicopter-style hover. Instead, Whisper describes JetFoil as a way to give aircraft “runway independent” operations while reducing the noise and mechanical complexity associated with some powered-lift designs.
The company said it is continuing to test and validate its propulsors and JetFoil technology with the US Air Force, US Navy and NASA under multiple contracts.
Whisper also said it is partnering with OEMs to design, build and fly JetFoil-powered aircraft prototypes over the coming year.
The concept builds on Moore’s long-running work in distributed electric propulsion. Before co-founding Whisper, Moore spent more than 30 years at NASA, where he worked on projects including Puffin, GL-10, LEAPTech and the X-57 electric aircraft program. He later co-founded Uber Elevate, the former Uber aviation unit that helped popularize the early eVTOL air taxi market.
Whisper Aero was founded in 2021 by Moore and Ian Villa. The company is developing electric propulsion systems aimed at reducing aircraft noise while improving efficiency.
The company has already applied JetFoil technology to defense concepts. In 2025, Whisper announced JetFoil-enabled Collaborative Logistics Aircraft concepts for the US Department of Defense, including autonomous aircraft designed for contested logistics missions.
Those aircraft concepts used Whisper’s electric propulsion technology to support runway-independent operations and quiet flight profiles for military logistics applications.
Whisper has suggested the technology could apply to a range of aircraft, including unmanned systems, advanced air mobility vehicles and other clean-sheet aircraft designs that need short-field or near-vertical takeoff performance.
