A novel electromagnetic actuator designed to operate at system resonance, used in the construction of a unique vehicle system, is presented herein. An exemplary embodiment of the vehicle system is based on an electromagnetic actuator coupled to a plurality of actuating members of a micro aerial vehicle. Attributes of this type of actuation offer several enhancements over traditional approaches. The unique use of an electromagnetic actuator lends itself to a near unlimited number of coil cross-sectional designs that can be optimized to meet performance requirements while maintaining minimal costs of fabrication.