Boeing has unveiled its latest innovation in unmanned aircraft: the Collaborative Transformational Rotorcraft (CxR) family of drones, designed to operate in conjunction with manned helicopters such as the AH-64E Apache.
Presented at the 2025 Association of the US Army (AUSA) Annual Meeting, the CxR is a fully autonomous modular tiltrotor drone designed to perform multiple roles, including strike, reconnaissance and collaborative operations. The company also envisions a logistics variant, the Collaborative Logistics Rotorcraft (CLR), aimed at rapid cargo transport and resupply in contested environments.
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Weighing between 2,270 and 3,175 kg and equipped with a turboshaft engine driving two tilting thrusters, the CxR can reach speeds between 370 and 460 km/h. Its tiltrotor configuration, inspired by Boeing’s experience with the V-22 Osprey, provides high maneuverability, low-to-the-ground flight capability and sufficient autonomy to accompany manned helicopters on critical missions. The modular design allows the installation of different payloads, ranging from weapons and sensors to smaller launchable drones, known as launched effects (LE), capable of carrying out attack, reconnaissance and interference at a distance.
The logistical CLR takes advantage of the same modular core as the CxR, but replaces the cargo area with a fuselage adapted to transport medium and heavy supplies, and can be quickly loaded onto C-130 Hercules aircraft and reconfigured in the field. Both models were designed with a focus on expeditionary operations, ensuring flexibility and speed of deployment, even in complex combat scenarios.
The CxR was designed to act as a “loyal wingman” for manned helicopters, integrating with Apache’s open architecture mission systems (MOSA) and taking advantage of features of the Manned-Unmanned Teaming-Extended (MUMT-X) program, which allows it to control multiple drones simultaneously. In addition to complementing the Apache, the CxR is expected to operate in conjunction with future Army platforms, such as the MV-75 assault tiltrotor.
Boeing is betting that this collaborative, low-cost, modular approach will help increase the survivability and efficiency of combat helicopters in future scenarios and long-range operations.
Source: The War Zone / The Aviationist | Photo: X @BoeingDefense | This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team
Meet our Collaborative Transformational Rotorcraft — also known as CxR.
CxR is a modular, unmanned, autonomous tiltrotor concept that can act as a loyal wingman and serve a vast range of current and future military missions.
See how: #AUSA2025
Shown 📹:… pic.twitter.com/5f1Io2S890
— Boeing Defense (@BoeingDefense) October 14, 2025
