Joby Aviation Completes First Flight

Joby Aviation announced November 13 it had demonstrated the first flight of its autonomous, turbine electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (VTOL) aircraft. According to the company, the November 7 flight test builds on the company’s existing fully-electric platform with a hybrid model and autonomy that could result in longer ranges and larger payloads. The novel aircraft includes a turbine-electric combination powertrain as well as the company’s autonomous Superpilot program.

The flight test comes three months after Joby announced a partnership with L3Harris Technologies, which plans to add defense applications to Joby aircraft. In its November 13 release, Joby said L3Harris plans to add defense capabilities to Joby’s commercial hybrid aircraft to fill the U.S. government’s request for $9 billion in 2026 for next-generation autonomous hybrid aircraft. The company plans to continue testing the aircraft in ground and flight tests until moving on to demonstrations with potential government clients in 2026. In a statement, Joby CEO JoeBen Bevirt said his company was well-placed to fill the request for more autonomous hybrid aircraft.

“It’s imperative we find ways to deliver new technology into the hands of American troops more quickly and cost-efficiently than we have in the past,” Bevirt said. “Our vertical integration puts us in a unique position to deliver on this goal, moving from concept to demonstration — and from demonstration to deployment — at a pace that is unprecedented in today’s aerospace and defense industry.”

In a statement, L3Harris’ President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance argued that robotic aircraft alongside traditional manned planes is the future for the military, and said the partnership would work towards that goal. “Our partnership with Joby accelerates missionized VTOL aircraft to directly support defense requirements,” Lambert said.

The defense-oriented vehicle announcement follows a series of deals by Joby with national governments to explore use of their electric aircraft as air taxis. The company announced such an agreement with Saudi Arabia on November 12 and with Kazakhstan November 6.