Joby has had a longstanding relationship with the DOD and NASA, which have been critical to the development of their electric aircraft. This is a great example of collaboration across the public and private sectors to rapidly develop technology for both commercial and aerospace endeavors. Their development program dates back to a 2016 Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) funding grant that enabled them to test range access and expertise.

Joby Aviation Delivers to Edwards Airforce Base – Cr, Joby Aviation

Joby aircraft is part of a $131 Million dollar AFWERX Agility prime contract which expects to deliver up to 9 electric air taxi vehicles the U.S. Airforce and other federal agencies. A second vehicle is expected to be delivered in 2024.

The U.S. Airforce and Joby to conduct Flight Test Operations over the next year

“Agility Prime’s stated objective in 2020 was to work towards an operational capability for transformative vertical lift in the DoD by 2023. The arrival of Joby’s aircraft at Edwards AFB is an important step towards achieving this objective,” said Col Elliott Leigh, AFWERX director and Chief Commercialization Officer for the Department of the Air Force. – Joby Aviation

SANTA CRUZ, Calif. & EDWARDS AIR FORCE BASE, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE:JOBY), a company developing electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft for commercial passenger service, today announced it has delivered its first aircraft to Edwards Air Force Base approximately six months ahead of the expected 2024 delivery date. On-base operations with Joby aircraft will be used to demonstrate a range of logistics missions, including cargo and passenger transportation, and will be operated by both Joby and U.S. Air Force personnel. In partnership with the U.S. Air Force, NASA will also use the aircraft for research focused on how these aircraft could fit into the national airspace, benefiting the entire air taxi industry – Business Wire

The delivery is the first under an Air Force contract that Joby said was valued at up to $131 million and gives the government the option to receive up to nine aircraft. The Air Force and Joby will operate the vehicle, but Joby will still own the aircraft and receive both fixed and variable payments for hours flown. NASA, which has a facility at the base, will also conduct research on the vehicle. – New York Times

Many of the claims, hopes, dreams and aspirations of Joby are made with forward looking statements. As this is still an emerging technology and wide-scale adoption and maturity are still developing it will be fun to watch. Though Joby has clearly broken away as a leader in this space.