Two U.S. Air Force pilots inspect Joby’s vertical takeoff and landing aircraft in April 2023. (Joby Aviation)
MARINA, Calif. (Tribune News Service) — Last year Joby Aviation delivered the first electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft to the U.S. Air Force, and on Tuesday the company announced it would deliver two more aircraft that are now part of Joby’s AFWERX Agility Prime contract with the Air Force.
In September 2023, about six months ahead of schedule, Joby Aviation delivered the first aircraft of its Pilot Production Line in Marina to Edwards Air Force Base as part of Joby’s up to $131 million Agility Prime contract with the U.S. Air Force. A second aircraft is expected to be placed at Edwards AFB this year, where the Joby team is working closely with the 412th Test Wing on testing and experimentation that will inform future operational testing at MacDill AFB in Tampa, Fla. The two additional aircraft will be delivered to MacDill AFB in 2025.
Joby’s aircraft are currently being produced at its Pilot Production Line in Marina.
“The early investment and vision by the U.S. government in this critical technology is proving foundational as we continue our path toward commercial passenger service. We’re grateful to our partners at the Department of Defense for their ongoing support and continued leadership in adopting eVTOL technology,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby, in a press release. “We’re looking forward to working with units at MacDill Air Force Base as we further explore the potential use cases for our aircraft, demonstrating its capabilities in realistic settings.”
U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps and Army aviators, ground crews and program managers have made multiple visits to Joby’s manufacturing and flight test facilities in Marina for ongoing flight training and mission analysis regarding potential logistics, medical and personnel transport applications of the aircraft.
Joby’s longstanding partnership with the Department of Defense dates back to its 2016 engagement with the Defense Innovation Unit, which granted the company early funding as well as access to test ranges and expertise that have aided its aircraft development program. Since then, Joby has expanded its work to include the AFWERX Agility Prime program, with Joby’s current and previously completed work with the DOD representing a total potential contract value of $163 million, the largest in the industry.
AFWERX, Air Force Work Project, is a technology directorate of the Air Force Research Laboratory and the innovation arm of the Department of the Air Force, to accelerate agile and affordable capability transitions by teaming innovative technology developers with airman and guardian talent.
MacDill AFB is home to the U.S. Special Operations Command, the U.S. Central Command and units from the Air Mobility Command, along with numerous logistics-oriented units. Personnel will test and train with the aircraft based at MacDill AFB, on base and in the surrounding area, according to the release.
Joby’s Agility Prime contract with the U.S. Air Force includes the provisioning of up to nine aircraft total to the Air Force and other federal agencies. In 2020, Joby became the first eVTOL developer to receive military airworthiness approval for its pre-production prototype aircraft.
At MacDill AFB, Joby will be working directly with DOD operational units for the first time, enabling units to carry out representative logistics missions and test use cases in personnel transport, casualty evacuation and support of security forces, said Joby in its release. Initial evaluations have demonstrated that the low maintenance requirements and operating costs, high speed and low acoustic footprint of eVTOL aircraft like Joby’s can enable a diverse array of DOD use cases. Joby will continue to train USAF pilots and maintainers, and other government partners, on this new category of electric aircraft.
Bevirt said the work with the U.S. Air Force will provide Joby with valuable early operational experience, while providing the USAF with firsthand understanding of the performance of Joby’s aircraft and its potential applications.
The company has designed and is producing an electric air taxi that will carry a pilot and four passengers at speeds up to 200 mph and offer high-speed mobility with a fraction of the noise produced by helicopters and zero operating emissions. Joby Aviation plans to operate these aircraft as part of aerial ridesharing networks in cities and communities around the world, starting in 2025, building on partnerships it has developed with Delta and Uber.
Joby has been doing business and developing a manufacturing facility in Marina for the past six years where it launched production of its aircraft at its Pilot Production Plant with the first aircraft rolling off the line in June 2023, to begin flight testing. The Marina facility is one of three in California with others at Santa Cruz — where the company is headquartered — and San Carlos. Joby Aviation also has a facility in Munich.
Last September, Joby announced it had selected Dayton, Ohio — beating out Marina and other contenders — as the location for its scaled manufacturing facility, capable of producing up to 500 electric vertical takeoff and landing eVTOL aircraft per year, with plans to invest up to $500 million and create up to 2,000 high-quality, clean manufacturing jobs in the region. Construction of the scaled Ohio facility is expected to start this year and it is expected to come online in 2025.
Earlier this month, the company announced its acquisition of an existing facility at Dayton International Airport where it has begun hiring in support of its initial operations there. The facility acquired by Joby will be fitted out to support initial manufacturing operations in Dayton, which are expected to begin later this year. The facility will be used for the manufacturing of aircraft parts in support of Joby’s Pilot Production Line in Marina.
In February, Joby announced it had completed the third of five stages of the type certification process required by the Federal Aviation Administration for commercial service.
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