Beehive Industries Completes High-Altitude Testing of Frenzy™ Engine, Clears Path to Flight

DENVER--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Dec 8, 2025--

Beehive Industries, an American manufacturer of advanced propulsion systems for uncrewed aerial defense applications, announced today the successful completion of high-altitude testing for its 200 lbf Frenzy™ engine, marking another major milestone in the company’s rapid development program and confirming readiness for flight testing in the first quarter of 2026. The achievement underscores Beehive’s ability to deliver cutting-edge propulsion to the warfighter at the speed of need — advancing American defense with innovation built for operational advantage. View photos and videoshere.

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The high-altitude test campaign, conducted at a government test facility in Ohio, validates Frenzy’s performance and capability across the full flight envelope. With this success, Beehive has completed altitude testing on schedule and is preparing to scale production to meet surging customer demand.

“The milestone confirms Frenzy’s readiness for flight integration,” said David Kimball, Chief Technology Officer at Beehive Industries. “In less than a year, we’ve gone from concept to proven high-altitude performance — and we’re doing it ahead of schedule because of the talented and determined team at Beehive. Frenzy is now flight-ready, and our production system is ready to scale alongside it.”

The altitude campaign capped an extraordinary year of progress for Beehive’s Frenzy program. Following the company’s September announcement of successful ground testing on six engines in just four months, Beehive shipped two prototype engines to a government testing facility in Ohio on schedule in October for a series of high-altitude tests. The results — performance, ignition at altitude, operability, and durability — all met or exceeded challenging Air Force requirements, validating the disruptive capability of the Frenzy engine. To recap the test campaign, the Frenzy engines demonstrated:

These results validate Beehive’s additive-first manufacturing approach, which allows the company to compress traditional aerospace development cycles from years to months while delivering disruptive cost and performance at unmatched scale.

“This test campaign not only demonstrates the full potential of our engine, but also how we move with speed through a highly iterative, cross-functional development program,” Kimball added. “Each milestone strengthens our confidence in the architecture, our ability to deliver on our commitments, and the disruptive path we’re charting for next-generation propulsion. We’re not just accelerating development timelines — we’re ensuring America’s warfighters have the technology they need, when they need it most.”

With flight testing set for early 2026, Beehive is preparing to integrate the Frenzy engine with its first flight vehicle — the final step before entering low-rate initial production. The company’s facilities in Denver, Cincinnati, and Knoxville are already ramping capacity to meet anticipated production demand.

Beehive has achieved extraordinary milestones with its Frenzy engine, building on a $12.46 million U.S. Air Force Rapid Sustainment Office (RSO) / University of Dayton Research Institute (UDRI) contract awarded in October 2024 and the engine’s formal December 2024 introduction. The Frenzy engine family spans 100 to 300 lbf, designed to power next-generation uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) with unmatched efficiency, reliability, and affordability.

About Beehive Industries

Beehive Industries is a U.S.-based manufacturing company specializing in the design and development of jet engines for uncrewed aerial defense applications, as well as parts manufacturing across high technology industries. Beehive employs more than 300 team members and is committed to powering American defense through advanced manufacturing and innovative offerings. Learn more athttps://www.beehive-industries.com

About UDRI

UDRI is a leader in research, development, and technology transition, partnering with organizations like Beehive and the U.S. Air Force to drive innovation in aerospace and propulsion.

About the RSO

The Air Force Rapid Sustainment Office (RSO), a Division of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center Combat Readiness Directorate, accelerates game-changing capabilities that sustain a modern Air Force. By exploiting new and emerging technologies, the RSO delivers sustainment and maintenance solutions at the speed of need to maximize warfighter readiness. Learn more athttps://www.aflcmc.af.mil/RSO.

Ignition confirmed at altitude: The flight-ready Frenzy™ engine is pictured successfully firing during vacuum chamber testing in Ohio. Flight tests are slated for early 2026. [PHOTO CREDIT: Beehive Industries]

Say goodbye to DRS, and hello to an electrical power boost.

Sunday's Abu Dhabi Grand Prix marked the last time Formula 1 uses the Drag Reduction System overtaking aid, introduced in 2011. Next year, drivers will have to manage the car's systems more closely than ever with a more visible role for aerodynamic and electrical technology.

After a season-long title battle ended with Lando Norris' first title, here's what to expect in 2026:

The biggest regulation changes in years make cars shorter, narrower and lighter, with movable “active aerodynamics” — X-mode for straight-line speed, Z-mode for cornering — and more reliance on electric hybrid power.

The FIA's target was for electrical power to make up half of total output along with a traditional V6 turbo engine. Instead of DRS, drivers can deploy extra electrical power at key moments. That makes driving even more strategic but could lead to drivers lifting off the power and coasting on some straights to allow the electrical systems to harvest energy.

The FIA claims the rules emphasize driver skill but there have been mixed reviews from those who've tried 2026 designs in their teams' simulators.

Smaller, more agile cars could help overtaking but the fastest and slowest cars may be up to four seconds per lap apart on pace, tire supplier Pirelli has reported. In F1 terms, that's an eternity. Expect to see more engine failures as teams balance reliability with performance.

Could this be the year Lewis Hamilton finds his form again at Ferrari and chases an eighth title? Maybe not.

Even though he never got on with the 2022-25 cars, Hamilton told the BBC he was “not looking forward” to 2026 after the Las Vegas Grand Prix last month, yet another disappointment since he joined Ferrari.

Mercedes has designed some of F1's most dominant engines before, but its eye-catching “zero-pod” aerodynamic concept was a bust when the last regulation period began in 2022. Get both aspects right this time and George Russell could be a title contender after two wins in 2025. Mercedes also supplies engines to McLaren and Alpine.

Another team to watch is Aston Martin, which has its first car created with design great Adrian Newey in charge, now with Honda power, and is hoping it can make two-time champion Fernando Alonso an F1 race winner for the first time in 13 years. Williams too could make a step forward after abandoning its 2025 projects early to focus on 2026.

The F1 grid expands to 22 cars for the first time since 2016 as Cadillac becomes the 11th team with backing from General Motors.

The newest team will have two of the most experienced drivers as Valtteri Bottas and Sergio Pérez return, with a combined 16 wins and 527 starts between them.

The American team has been taking lessons from NASA space programs and has a British boss who compares himself to an “inverse Ted Lasso” for the culture shock of working in U.S. auto racing.

British 18-year-old Arvid Lindblad will be the only rookie in 2026 at Racing Bulls. Eight of 10 existing teams have played it safe with the same driver lineup so the only other change is Isack Hadjar moving up to Red Bull to join Verstappen. Yuki Tsunoda drops into a reserve role.

The Madring is the one new circuit on the 2026 calendar. The Madrid street circuit takes over the Spanish Grand Prix title from Barcelona, which stays on the calendar as Spain gets a second race for the first time since 2012.

That means no space for Italy's second F1, the Emilia-Romagna Grand Prix at the Imola circuit, which has held five races since 2020.

The season's over but there's one more day of driving left in 2025. Tuesday sees a single day of testing in Abu Dhabi with teams using modified “mule” cars to try out next year's tires, along with F1's usual test day for young drivers.

After 2025's red-carpet season launch show in London, the start of the 2026 season will be low-key.

The new cars hit the track for the first time at a private test in Spain starting Jan. 26.

There are two more open testing sessions in Bahrain in February before the season-opening Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 8.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing

McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain celebrates after becoming a world champion after the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, UAE, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Fatima Shbair)

Crowd erupts as McLaren driver Lando Norris of Britain reacts on the podium after becoming the Formula One world champion following the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands steers his car during the Formula One Abu Dhabi Grand Prix at Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, Sunday, Dec. 7, 2025, as the sun sets behind the track. (AP Photo/Altaf Qadri)