Joby notches first flight for hybrid VTOL aircraft

PARIS — Joby Aviation flew a demonstrator of a new hybrid-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft for the first time, which it plans to pitch to military customers through an agreement with L3Harris, the company announced today.

Conducted at Joby’s Marina, Calif., facility on Nov. 7, the flight is a step toward operational demonstrations with prospective customers like the US government planned for next year. The autonomous aircraft will be produced by Joby for commercial applications but missionized for military users by L3Harris. The aircraft will include Joby’s autonomy stack dubbed SuperPilot.

“It’s imperative that we find ways to deliver new technology into the hands of American troops more quickly and cost-efficiently than we have in the past,” founder and CEO of Joby JoeBen Bevirt, said in the company’s release, touting a quick pace for the aircraft’s development. 

The aircraft is based on Joby’s all-electric S4 platform, but is modified to include a gas turbine hybrid powertrain. That change, the companies say, provides the necessary range for military missions. The team intends to market the autonomous system to the DoD for roles like contested logistics, drone wingmen roles and more. 

The US military is on the hunt for platforms that can operate in austere environments like the Indo-Pacific, where runways are sparse and potential threats from adversaries like China are severe. The underlying S4 platform can takeoff and land vertically like a helicopter but rotate its propellers to fly like an airplane. 

The US Air Force experimented with electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft under its Agility Prime program, where Joby in 2023 delivered its S4 to the service for testing missions like moving cargo. However, the Air Force has acknowledged that all-electric vehicles lack the range necessary for military missions and have expressed interest instead in hybrid platforms. The service is also transitioning the efforts for eVTOL experimentation from the existing Agility Prime effort to a new program.

“The magic of dual-use technology is that it creates value in both directions,” Bevirt said in the release. “By building on our proven technology stack, our partners can rapidly deliver new capabilities for” the Pentagon “while we benefit from advancing the maturity of our hybrid and autonomous systems. In turn, this will help pave the way for commercial applications, from longer-range hybrid VTOL missions to autonomous air operations in commercial airspace.”

The announcement comes ahead of the Dubai Airshow, a key hub for the display of electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft, where both Joby and L3Harris are expected to have a presence. L3Harris and other defense players like Anduril have recently expanded into eVTOL partnerships, as industry bets that investments will be mutually beneficial for defense and commercial applications.