Electrified rotorcraft

A method for controlling a propulsion system for a rotary wing aircraft, comprising:

• receiving by a flight control computer a signal indicative of a power demand on an engine, the engine coupled to a generator, the generator providing electric power to a main rotor electric motor to drive a main rotor;
• determining by the flight control computer if a battery is available to supply electrical power to the main rotor electric motor in response to the power demand;
• upon determining that the battery is not available to supply the electrical power performing:
• communicating with a vehicle health and usage monitoring system to determine if there are any system components or conditions that interfere with providing electrical energy to the main rotor electric motor;
• detecting a status of system components;
• increasing power from the engine to drive the generator;
• and
• distributing electrical power from the generator to the main rotor electric motor:
• upon determining that the battery is available to supply the electrical power performing:
• communicating with the vehicle health and usage monitoring system to determine if there are any system components or conditions that interfere with providing electrical energy to the main rotor electric motor;
• detecting the status of system components;
• instructing a power processing unit to manage electrical energy;
• upon the power processing unit determining that the battery has sufficient stored energy, distributing power from the generator and the battery to the main rotor electric motor;
• upon the power processing unit determining that the battery lacks sufficient stored energy, distributing power from the generator to the main rotor electric motor while recharging the battery.