Santa Cruz, CA, Aug, 2024 — Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY), a next-generation aviation firm, at present introduced that it demonstrated autonomous logistics plane operations in an evolving mission surroundings, in partnership with the U.S. Air Drive in the course of the ‘Agile Flag 24-3’ train.
Through the train, Joby’s crew, which incorporates the autonomy division of Xwing acquired by Joby in June of this yr, operated a completely autonomous Cessna 208B Grand Caravan for greater than 3,900 miles of flight between army bases and public airports throughout California and Nevada.
The plane autonomously transported important elements to revive the operational readiness of assorted Air Drive property, flying between 9 areas in a dynamic operational surroundings. The plane, whereas monitored by a security pilot, accomplished a completely autonomous taxi, take-off, and touchdown at every location in the course of the train with out requiring on-the-ground infrastructure, together with quite a few websites that had not been beforehand visited by the plane.
Joby additionally showcased its means to remotely supervise the plane utilizing a laptop computer and a satellite tv for pc communications terminal, each of that are transportable in a single backpack.
Maxime Gariel, Autonomy Lead at Joby, commented: “We have been happy to proceed demonstrating the capabilities of our autonomy know-how throughout Agile Flag 24-3, the place we accomplished dozens of totally autonomous aerial missions and showcased a capability to carry out speedy resupply. We stay up for persevering with to work with the U.S. Air Drive as we additional develop the suite of applied sciences that would allow better automation or full autonomy, first on the Caravan after which on quite a few different plane sorts.”
Earlier this yr, the Xwing crew participated in ‘Agile Flag 24-1’, an identical train, finishing greater than 2,800 miles of totally autonomous flight and demonstrating the power to combine autonomous plane into congested airspace in addition to evening operations, sloped runways, and touchdown at airports with no infrastructure.
“The return on funding for the U.S. Air Drive with this know-how is critical. By utilizing it to deal with smaller cargo, we are able to protect cargo plane for extra important duties like transporting massive components or engines,” stated Col. Max Bremer, Air Mobility Command Particular Entry Program administration officer. “This not solely enhances the general functionality of the cargo fleet but additionally ensures they’re used the place they’re most wanted.”
The Caravan’s autonomous capabilities are enabled by a collection of applied sciences developed by the Xwing autonomy crew, which joined Joby in June 2024, and the plane has accomplished greater than 300 totally autonomous flights since 2020.
Joby’s acquisition of Xwing’s autonomy division and continued improvement of autonomy know-how demonstrates the Firm’s dedication to creating next-generation applied sciences which have the potential to proceed to enhance security and widen entry to industrial flight. Joby additionally expects the know-how to play an vital position in accelerating the execution of present contract deliverables with the U.S. Division of Protection and increasing the potential for future contracts.
The views expressed on this press launch are these of the writer and don’t essentially replicate the official coverage or place of the Division of the Air Drive, the Division of Protection, or the U.S. authorities.
About Joby
Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY) is a California-based transportation firm creating an all-electric, vertical take-off and touchdown air taxi which it intends to function as a part of a quick, quiet, and handy service in cities around the globe. Joby’s plane is designed to hold a pilot and 4 passengers at speeds of as much as 200 mph, providing high-speed mobility with a fraction of the noise produced by helicopters and 0 working emissions. To study extra, go to www.jobyaviation.com.
About AFRL
The Air Drive Analysis Laboratory is the first scientific analysis and improvement heart for the Division of the Air Drive. AFRL performs an integral position in main the invention, improvement, and integration of inexpensive warfighting applied sciences for our air, area and our on-line world pressure. With a workforce of greater than 12,500 throughout 9 know-how areas and 40 different operations throughout the globe, AFRL offers a various portfolio of science and know-how starting from elementary to superior analysis and know-how improvement. For extra data, go to www.afresearchlab.com.
About AFWERX
Because the innovation arm of the DAF and a directorate throughout the Air Drive Analysis Laboratory, AFWERX brings cutting-edge American ingenuity from small companies and start-ups to deal with probably the most urgent challenges of the DAF. AFWERX employs roughly 370 army, civilian and contractor personnel at 5 hubs and websites executing an annual $1.4 billion price range. Since 2019, AFWERX has executed over 6,200 new contracts value greater than $4.7 billion to strengthen the U.S. protection industrial base and drive sooner know-how transition to operational functionality. For extra data, go to: www.afwerx.com.
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