Joby, L3Harris developing autonomous aircraft for defense missions

Electric aircraft firm Joby Aviation is teaming up with L3Harris to develop an autonomous hybrid vertical takeoff and landing aircraft that could be used for defense applications.

The companies plan to start flight tests this fall and be ready to demonstrate operational capabilities in government exercises by 2026.

“The collaboration leverages Joby’s existing commercial aircraft development program and leading manufacturing capabilities, combined with L3Harris’ proven expertise on platform missionization including sensors, effectors, communication and collaborative autonomy,” the firms said in a statement Friday.

The aircraft, which is based on Joby’s S4 platform, is designed for either piloted or fully autonomous operations. It’s powered by a gas turbine propulsion system, and the firms said it could have a range of defense applications, including ISR and contested logistics missions. As a vertical takeoff and landing, or VTOL, aircraft, the system can lift off vertically, similar to a helicopter.

While Joby is perhaps more known for its commercial work — the company plans to mass produce its electric aircraft as part of an air taxi service — the firm has been working with DOD since 2016, when it received a contract from the Defense Innovation Unit.

Pentagon’s commercial tech arm to ramp up role in military innovation

A few years later, in 2020, the Air Force’s innovation cell, AFWERX, granted Joby’s eVTOL aircraft its first airworthiness certification through the service’s Agility Prime program.

In 2023, as part of Agility Prime, Joby delivered one of its air taxis to Edwards Air Force Base in California for testing and to support day-to-day base operations, like transporting cargo, parts or people. The service has considered using an aircraft like Joby’s for combat rescue operations.

Joby CEO JoeBen Bevirt said in a statement the company’s partnership with L3Harris is a logical next step for the company.

“We have worked closely with the Department of Defense over the past decade to give them a front row seat to the development of our dual-purpose technologies, and we’re now ready to demonstrate and deploy it,” Bevirt said.

Joby, L3Harris developing autonomous aircraft for defense missions

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