Mach Industries Awarded DIU Contract for Runway Independent Maritime Expeditionary Strike Capability

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif., June 16, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Mach Industries, a defense manufacturer that develops and produces advanced autonomous systems for the U.S. military and its allies, announced a contract award for the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) Runway Independent Maritime Expeditionary Strike (RIMES) program. Serving as the aircraft integrator, Mach Industries will lead development and overall program execution for the effort. Mach Industries will execute this effort through a strategic partnership with Whisper Aero. Together the team is leveraging commercial technologies to design and deliver Atlas, a next-generation aircraft with a novel aero and propulsion approach that gives the warfighter an entirely new advantage for operations in contested environments.

The RIMES program solicitation, published earlier this year, stated that "the Department of the Navy desires an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) capable of supporting Naval surface combatants through executing long range strikes with standard munition payloads while providing tactical flexibility by operating from expeditionary locations with minimal infrastructure, or from ships without large flight decks." Atlas provides the joint force with a warfighting solution using a hybrid-electric propulsion aircraft, capable of runway independent operations while carrying a one thousand pound payload with a range of 1,400 nautical miles.

Atlas aligns to the objectives noted by DIU Director, Owen West who said that "we are determined to dramatically lower our cost-per kill, while reducing our risk to force, replacing warfighters with economical fires and robots." Mach Industries' integration of Whisper Aero's JetFoil™ in a scalable aircraft design, enables entirely new concepts of operations. Atlas can use unimproved rotary-wing landing zones, while maintaining the control simplicity of a fixed-wing aircraft and a thrust-to-weight ratio that is less than half of what is required for vertical flight. This, along with highly efficient propulsors, result in significantly increased range, as well as radical reductions in acoustic signature. The combination of these attributes, along with price points that enable low-cost mass, gives Atlas the ability to reduce cost per effect and fuel per effect in a contested environment.

The Under Secretary of War for Research and Engineering, Emil Michael, published six critical technology areas, including contested logistics. In his testimony before the House Armed Services Committee's Subcommittee on Cyber, Information Technologies, and Innovation, Michael stated: "Future conflict will challenge the Department's logistics and sustainment systems, including through persistent, multi‑domain attacks on the Joint Force's mobility." Atlas has the ability to launch and recover from austere locations, which drastically reduces necessary infrastructure for operations in contested logistics environments. Additionally, the radically reduced part count and highly redundant propulsion architecture simplifies sustainment in distributed operations while preserving the highest levels of safety at low cost.

"Mach's speed to prototype and production, coupled with Whisper Aero's novel aerodynamics and propulsion makes Atlas a revolutionary air mobility platform. After more than a decade focused on industrial scale and operations in contested environments, I am confident that this platform can redefine how the Joint Force projects power by delivering radical improvements in mission lethality, logistics footprint, acoustic signature, system safety, and energy efficiency," said Nathan Diller, President and Chief Strategy Officer at Mach Industries. Diller, who previously worked as the Assistant Director of Aeronautics in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and as an appropriations professional staffer on Capitol Hill, launched AFWERX Agility Prime in 2019, a program focused on broadening the U.S. aerospace industrial base for both civil and military use.

Under this contract, Mach Industries will leverage its expertise in rapidly developing, testing and manufacturing defense systems alongside the advanced aerodynamic and propulsion technologies developed by the Whisper Aero team.

"We developed JetFoil to propel the next generation of conventional, short, and vertical takeoff and landing aircraft silently and efficiently," says Mark Moore, CEO of Whisper Aero. JetFoil enables 90° of flow turning with over 95% turning efficiency and can generate a lift coefficient of 40 even at 15 knots. "With JetFoil, Atlas can effectively meet the needs of the RIMES mission to operate even from Destroyer class vessels."

In addition to spending the last several decades advancing vertical flight at the Pentagon, NASA, and a multitude of commercial ventures, Moore was recently awarded the V/STOL F.E. Newbold award, recognizing outstanding contributions to the advancement and realization of powered lift flight. Previous award winners have included those responsible for vertical takeoff and landing systems for the F-35, AV-8A Harrier, V-22 Osprey, and SpaceX rockets.

The award reflects Mach Industries' growing track record of rapidly moving systems from development, to operational demonstration, and to production. The company is currently flying five distinct platforms and is positioned to advance Atlas from concept to scaled manufacturing. Over the past two months, Mach Industries has successfully flown systems in four countries in complex electromagnetic environments. Across its portfolio, the company has manufactured more than 250 aircraft and designed over 1,000 solid rocket motors, reflecting the engineering, testing, and manufacturing capabilities required to deliver critical systems at unmatched speed and scale.

About Mach Industries
Founded in 2023, Mach Industries is a defense manufacturing company headquartered in Huntington Beach, California. The company develops advanced unmanned systems and the manufacturing infrastructure to scale their production. By vertically integrating weapons, propulsion, and manufacturing, Mach delivers the speed, adaptability, and resilience required to preserve military advantage. For more information, please visit machindustries.com and follow on LinkedIn and X.

About Whisper Aero
Whisper Aero is building UltraQuiet™, efficient propulsion systems. As AI enters the physical world, the need to harness the power of air more quietly and efficiently is increasingly more critical across aircraft, data centers, self-driving cars, and more. Whisper's breakthrough technologies allow drones, leaf blowers, HVAC systems, and more to operate silently at any time, at greater speeds, and with incredible improvements in efficiency and cost. Whisper was founded by industry veterans, Mark Moore and Ian Villa, and continues to innovate a future that's as considerate as it is compelling with its world-class team in Tennessee. For more information, please visit whisper.aero and follow on LinkedIn, Instagram, and X.

Mach Industries Media Contact:
[email protected]

Whisper Aero Media Contact: 
Ian Villa
[email protected]

SOURCE Mach Industries