U.S.-Engineered Electric Propulsion for Un-crewed Systems and Mission-Critical Platforms
CRG Defense develops and manufactures high-performance electric motors, generators, and control systems for defense, aerospace, and advanced mobility applications.
Our capabilities span compact motors for small un-crewed aircraft through high-power electric machines for Group 2 and Group 3 aircraft, hybrid-electric propulsion, power generation, and other mission-critical systems. We combine electromagnetic design, power electronics, mechanical engineering, manufacturing, and system-level testing to deliver powertrain solutions optimized for mission performance, manufacturability, and secure domestic production.
Whether adapting an existing motor to meet a platform requirement or developing a clean-sheet electric machine, CRG Defense supports the complete product lifecycle—from mission analysis and initial design through prototype fabrication, qualification, production, and platform integration.
Quick links:
- Why Choose CRG Defense for Electric Motors and Machines?
- Electric Motor Development and Manufacturing Capabilities
- Small UAS and FPV Motors
- List Medium-Power Motors for Group 1 and Group 2 UAS
- List High-Power Motors for Group 2 and Group 3 UAS
- Custom Electric Machine Development
- Complete Electric Propulsion System Integration
Why Choose CRG Defense for Electric Motors and Machines?
Mission-Optimized Design
Motors, controllers, and propulsion systems are designed around the mission—not a generic catalog operating point. CRG Defense evaluates power, torque, speed, duty cycle, thermal conditions, available power, weight, packaging, acoustic signature, and environmental requirements to identify the best system-level solution.
Secure U.S. Supply Chain
CRG Defense develops domestic and allied supply chains for critical motor materials and components, including magnets, electrical steel, copper windings, bearings, power electronics, and structural components. Designs can be tailored to support NDAA, DFARS, Blue, and program-specific sourcing requirements.
Full-Lifecycle Capability
CRG Defense supports electromagnetic simulation, mechanical and thermal design, motor/generator controls, prototype fabrication, dynamometer testing, integration, design for manufacturing, qualification, and production transition within a coordinated engineering process.
Electric Motor Development and Manufacturing Capabilities
CRG Defense provides the engineering, production, and test capabilities required to move electric propulsion systems from mission need to operational hardware.
- Mission analysis and propulsion-system requirements development
- Motor, controller, battery, and powertrain trade studies
- Electromagnetic finite-element analysis and topology optimization
- Permanent-magnet synchronous motor and brushless DC motor development
- Axial-flux, radial-flux, inner-rotor, and outer-rotor configurations
- Concentrated and distributed winding development
- Mechanical, structural, rotor-dynamic, and bearing analysis
- Thermal analysis and cooling-system development
- Power electronics, motor controls, embedded firmware, and telemetry
- EMI and EMC characterization and mitigation
- Rapid prototype fabrication and low-rate initial production
- Dynamometer, thrust-stand, thermal, acoustic, and environmental testing
- Design for manufacturing and automated production development
- Platform integration and flight-test support
CRG Defense’s vertically integrated approach allows motor, controller, propeller, battery, and aircraft requirements to be evaluated as a coupled propulsion system rather than as isolated components.
Small UAS and FPV Motors
High-Performance Propulsion for Attritable and Tactical Small UAS
CRG Defense develops compact, high-power-density motors for FPV aircraft, small multirotors, fixed-wing UAS, interceptors, loitering systems, and other weight- and cost-sensitive platforms.
These motors are designed for applications where rapid acceleration, high transient power, low mass, compact packaging, and scalable production are critical. Motor configurations can be optimized for commercially available propellers and electronic speed controllers or developed as part of a fully integrated propulsion system.
Typical Applications
- FPV and first-person-view aircraft
- Attritable and expendable UAS
- Small multirotor reconnaissance platforms
- Interceptor and counter-UAS aircraft
- Loitering and one-way systems
- Compact fixed-wing propulsion
- High-agility aircraft
- Small actuators, effectors, and auxiliary systems
Available Capabilities
- High torque and power density
- High transient and burst-power operation
- Application-specific voltage architecture optimization
- Outrunner and compact in-runner configurations
- Custom stator, winding, magnet, and rotor designs
- Domestic and non-FEOC component sourcing
- Integrated powertrain matching
- Thermal characterization across representative mission profiles
- Design for high-volume automated production
- Prototype through production quantities
Typical Development Objectives
- Increase thrust without increasing motor mass
- Improve efficiency at the primary mission operating point
- Reduce motor temperature during sustained high-power operation
- Improve manufacturing consistency and winding quality
- Replace restricted or foreign-sourced motor components
- Reduce acoustic or electromagnetic signature
- Increase bearing and rotor durability
- Reduce unit cost at production scale
Medium-Power Motors for Group 1 and Group 2 UAS
Efficient, Rugged Propulsion for Extended-Range and Multi-Mission Aircraft
CRG Defense develops medium-power motors and controllers for Group 1 and Group 2 un-crewed aircraft requiring greater endurance, payload capacity, reliability, and environmental performance than conventional hobby-derived propulsion systems can provide.
These systems bridge the gap between compact FPV motors and larger aerospace electric machines. Designs can support direct-drive propellers, ducted fans, geared propulsion, generators, starter-generators, and auxiliary power applications.
Typical applications
- Long-endurance multirotor aircraft
- Heavy-lift Group 1 UAS
- Group 2 fixed-wing and VTOL aircraft
- Ducted-fan propulsion
- Hybrid-electric aircraft
- Airborne generators and starter-generators
- Ground and maritime robotic systems
- Mission payload actuation and auxiliary power
Available capabilities
- Application-specific voltage and current architecture
- Continuous and peak-duty optimization
- Direct-drive and geared configurations
- Air-cooled and conductively cooled designs
- Integrated electronic speed controller or inverter development
- Embedded sensing, health monitoring, and telemetry
- Low-noise and reduced-signature operation
- Environmental sealing and ruggedized construction
- Propeller, fan, and drivetrain integration
- Secure domestic manufacturing and component traceability
- Design for low-rate and moderate-rate production
System-level optimization
Motor selection is performed as part of a complete propulsion-system trade study that may include:
- Mission-segment energy analysis
- Aircraft mass and payload sensitivity
- Propeller or fan sizing
- Motor torque-speed requirements
- Battery voltage and capacity
- Controller current and switching strategy
- Thermal limits and cooling requirements
- Wiring and power-distribution losses
- Reliability, redundancy, and fault response
- Aircraft packaging and center-of-gravity constraints
High-Power Motors for Group 2 and Group 3 UAS
Mission-Critical Electric Machines for High-Power Aircraft and Mobile Systems
CRG Defense develops high-power electric motors, generators, and controllers for Group 2 and Group 3 un-crewed aircraft, hybrid-electric platforms, distributed electric propulsion, and other demanding defense and aerospace applications.
These systems are engineered for high continuous power, high efficiency, thermal resilience, fault tolerance, and reliable operation in demanding airborne, ground, and maritime environments.
Typical Applications
- Group 2 and Group 3 UAS propulsion
- Heavy-lift VTOL aircraft
- Distributed electric propulsion
- Hybrid-electric aircraft
- Integrated starter-generators
- Airborne auxiliary power
- Mobile and expeditionary generators
- Ground-vehicle drivetrains
- USV and UUV propulsion
- High-power pumps, compressors, and actuators
Available Capabilities
- High-voltage motor and controller architectures
- Permanent-magnet and alternative magnetic-material designs
- High-speed and high-torque machine configurations
- Liquid, oil, air, and conductive cooling approaches
- Integrated inverter and motor-controller development
- Advanced control algorithms and embedded firmware
- Rotor containment and overspeed design
- Fault-tolerant and redundant winding architectures
- EMI and EMC mitigation
- High-efficiency operation across representative duty cycles
- Integrated telemetry and MOSA-ready interfaces
- Dynamometer and system-level validation
Representative Development Considerations
- Continuous, intermittent, and emergency power ratings
- Torque-speed envelope and field-weakening operation
- DC bus voltage and insulation architecture
- Thermal rejection under altitude and hot-day conditions
- Rotor stress, critical speed, and bearing life
- Demagnetization margin
- Acoustic and electromagnetic signature
- Controller switching frequency and semiconductor selection
- Cooling-system size, mass, and parasitic power
- Integration with aircraft power and flight-control systems
Custom Electric Machine Development
Clean-Sheet Machines Designed Around the Mission
When commercial motors cannot meet a platform’s performance, packaging, sourcing, or environmental requirements, CRG Defense develops custom electric machines and controllers around the complete mission need.
Custom development can begin with a defined aircraft requirement, an existing propulsion-system limitation, a foreign-sourced component that must be replaced, or a preliminary motor design that requires optimization and production transition.
Custom development services
- Mission and system requirements definition
- Existing motor teardown and performance assessment
- Domestic-source and NDAA-compliant replacement development
- Electromagnetic topology and winding trade studies
- Motor constant, voltage, current, and speed optimization
- Magnet-grade and magnetic-material evaluation
- Electrical steel, winding, and conductor optimization
- Mechanical architecture and packaging development
- Bearing, shaft, rotor, and retention-system design
- Thermal-management development
- Controller hardware and firmware development
- Sensorless and sensored commutation
- Digital control, telemetry, and vehicle-network integration
- Prototype fabrication and test
- Qualification and reliability testing
- Design for manufacturing and cost reduction
- Supplier development and production transition
Development process
- Mission and Requirements Analysis
Define operating points, duty cycles, environment, packaging, power architecture, sourcing constraints, interfaces, and production objectives. - Architecture and Trade Studies
Evaluate motor topology, winding configuration, magnetic materials, voltage, speed, cooling, controller architecture, and manufacturing approach. - Detailed Design and Simulation
Complete electromagnetic, mechanical, thermal, structural, rotor-dynamic, and control-system design. - Prototype Fabrication
Produce prototype motors, controllers, fixtures, and supporting test hardware. - Test and Validation
Conduct dynamometer, thrust, thermal, acoustic, efficiency, endurance, EMI, environmental, and system-integration testing. - Design Refinement
Update the design using measured performance and manufacturing data. - Production Transition
Establish drawings, specifications, quality controls, suppliers, tooling, work instructions, inspection processes, and scalable production methods.
Typical custom-development outcomes:
- Higher power density within an existing aircraft envelope
- Increased endurance through improved mission-point efficiency
- Reduced motor or controller temperature
- Replacement of foreign or unavailable components
- Improved durability and environmental protection
- Lower acoustic or electromagnetic signature
- Reduced recurring cost
- Improved production consistency
- Integrated motor-controller operation
- A complete technical data package for future production
Complete Electric Propulsion System Integration
A motor’s rated power alone does not determine aircraft performance. CRG Defense evaluates the complete chain from stored electrical energy to delivered thrust or shaft power.
Our integrated propulsion work can include:
- Motor
- Generator
- Electronic speed controller or inverter
- Propeller or ducted fan
- Battery and battery-management system
- Power distribution
- Cooling system
- Embedded controls
- Communications and telemetry
- Mechanical mounting
- Aircraft and vehicle integration
This coordinated approach helps prevent mismatched components, underestimated thermal loads, inefficient operating points, electromagnetic interference, and reliability issues that often emerge late in platform development.
Bring Us Your Mission
CRG Defense works with government organizations, aircraft manufacturers, system integrators, and technology developers to create electric propulsion systems that meet demanding mission, supply-chain, and production requirements.
Whether the need is a production-ready small UAS motor, a higher-power propulsion system, a domestic replacement for an existing component, or a clean-sheet electric machine, our team can help define the requirement and develop a practical path to tested hardware.