Joby Aviation’s 3,100-mile autonomous flight signals its push beyond electric air taxis

An aircraft equipped with Joby Aviation’s autonomy technology flew more than 3,100 miles across the United States without a human pilot taking control at any point, the company said Friday.

The flight not only demonstrated the capabilities of Joby’s autonomy tech, but also showed that the company’s ambitions extend well beyond its pursuit of electric air taxis. Joby said the autonomous aircraft it’s not done yet, and will make its way back to the West Coast with stops in various cities, including Louisville, Kentucky, and Salt Lake City, over the next two weeks.

Joby Aviation said the cross-country trip, which it described as the “first-ever autonomous flight across the United States,” included autonomous taxiing, takeoffs, navigation, and landings. The aircraft was remotely supervised from Joby’s headquarters in California and Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina. A pilot was on board for compliance, but Joby said the aircraft performed the entire operation autonomously.

Joby, which used a converted Cessna Caravan aircraft for the trip, said the flight demonstrated that its autonomy technology could handle different environments and missions, including medical transport, disaster response, and defense logistics.

It also showcased the potential for a second business for Joby, which is best known for developing electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for an eventual urban air taxi service. Joby has spent years developing and seeking type certification from the Federal Aviation Administration for its all-electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft, which will be used to carry passengers on short trips in urban areas.

While Joby’s electric air taxi service gets much of the attention, the company has a longstanding relationship with the U.S. Department of Defense and is increasingly pushing deeper into the military sector.

Its autonomy stack, which is designed to be retrofitted onto a wide range of conventional aircraft, is part of that strategy. The company plans to first bring to market a regional airframe equipped with the autonomy stack, which could be used for defense missions as well as commercial freight transport. That effort has been supported by a $17 million Air Force contract with AFWERX.

Joby took its most meaningful step into defense in August when it acquired Resonant Sciences for $500 million in cash and stock. Ohio-based Resonant Sciences, which makes radio frequency and sensor systems, is now part of a dedicated defense business within Joby that includes several projects such as the development of turbine-electric and hydrogen-electric aircraft, and an autonomy technology stack.

Last year, Joby signed an agreement with defense contractor L3Harris Technologies to “explore opportunities” to develop a new class of aircraft — specifically, a gas-turbine hybrid vertical take-off and landing aircraft that can fly autonomously — for defense applications.

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Kirsten Korosec is a reporter and editor who has covered the future of transportation from EVs and autonomous vehicles to urban air mobility and in-car tech for more than a decade. She is currently the transportation editor at TechCrunch and co-host of TechCrunch’s Equity podcast. She is also co-founder and co-host of the podcast, “The Autonocast.” She previously wrote for Fortune, The Verge, Bloomberg, MIT Technology Review and CBS Interactive.

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