Joby Expands Autonomous Flight Contracts with U.S. Air Force to Nearly $37 Million Following Record Coast-to-Coast Tour
Joby Aviation (NYSE: JOBY) received additional U.S. Air Force funding, bringing the service’s total commitment to nearly $37 million.
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- Agreements include software integration and operational testing, expanding Joby’s defense autonomy work with USAF AFWERX across two primary contracts
- The contract expansion follows the record setting autonomous cross-country flights in the J208, spanning 6,665 miles with landings in 11 states and integrated flight operations across 24 states
Joby’s autonomous J208 flies over
This milestone builds on Joby’s long-standing partnership with AFWERX and reflects continued Air Force momentum behind Joby’s autonomous flight platform. It also supports Joby’s broader dual-use mission: bringing autonomous logistics and cargo capabilities to defense, emergency response, and commercial operations.
First-Ever Autonomous Flight Across the United States
The contract expansion builds on the completion of Joby’s own nationwide J208 cross-country flights, part of Joby’s 2026 Electric Skies campaign. In the first-ever autonomous flight across
Proven Dual-Use Capabilities
Designed to safely support autonomous flight in both civilian skies and contested military environments, Joby’s dual-use technology integrates advanced sensors, onboard computing, and automated flight controls. A ground-based operator monitors the flight, and maintains the ability to update routes and communicate with air traffic control in real time. Building on the mature autonomy stack acquired from Xwing in 2024, the system has already completed more than 400 fully autonomous flights to date. This foundation is expected to be further expanded through Joby’s planned acquisition of Resonant Sciences, which is expected to close early in 2027, accelerating the company’s defense capabilities.
The system's tactical readiness was highlighted during a landmark deployment across the Pacific during the military's REFORPAC exercises in August 2025, where the aircraft in
Building on that momentum, these additions support ongoing design updates and safety reviews to extend the operational capabilities of Joby’s autonomy stack. The milestone deepens Joby’s multi-year partnership with AFWERX and advances the company’s dual-use strategy for logistics and cargo operations.
“This contract expansion is a powerful validation of the adaptability of Joby’s autonomy stack,” said JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO of Joby Aviation. “We designed this system to be platform-agnostic, letting us quickly bring advanced autonomy to a wide range of high-utility aircraft. This funding will accelerate our path to sustained uncrewed operations, delivering a single software solution that solves critical logistics challenges for both the
“AFWERX is supporting the development and evaluation of autonomous airlift technologies to strengthen Air Force logistics resilience. Our goal is to sustain cargo operations in contested environments while reducing risk to aircrews and preserving crewed aircraft for missions that require them,” said Kate Brown, Contested Logistics Tactical Airlift Lead, AFWERX.
Known primarily for its piloted electric air taxi, Joby is expanding its capabilities as a next-generation aviation company. The company’s platform-agnostic autonomy stack builds on this innovation, supporting dual-use defense logistics, cargo operations, and emergency response.
Joby's autonomous J208 operations are also part of the White House-backed eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP) initiatives in
Media Availability & B-Roll
High-resolution photos and video footage of the coast-to-coast flight and photos of tour stops, are accessible here.
About Joby Aviation
Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE: JOBY) is a next-generation aviation company based in California. Its aircraft, propulsion and autonomy technologies span both commercial aviation and defense applications. Joby also operates Blade, a leading urban air mobility business providing passenger transportation services in the United States and Europe. Joby intends to operate its fast, quiet and convenient air taxi service in cities around the world and sell its aircraft to other operators and partners. To learn more, visit www.jobyaviation.com.
Forward-Looking Statements
This release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to, statements regarding the development and performance of our aircraft, our regulatory outlook, progress and timing; our planned operations and benefits we expect to receive from our contracts with the US Air Force; our business plan, objectives, goals and market opportunity; and our current expectations relating to our business, financial condition, results of operations, prospects, capital needs and growth of our operations. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements may include words such as “anticipate”, “estimate”, “expect”, “project”, “plan”, “intend”, “believe”, “may”, “will”, “should”, “can have”, “likely” and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events. All forward looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including: our ability to launch our air taxi service and the growth of the urban air mobility market generally; our ability to produce aircraft that meet our performance expectations in the volumes and on the timelines that we project; contracts with the U.S. Air Force may be subject to government funding and appropriations constraints, and contracts for which the U.S. Air Force sets a ceiling may not result in the maximum amount being paid; the competitive environment in which we operate; our future capital needs; our ability to adequately protect and enforce our intellectual property rights; our ability to effectively respond to evolving regulations and standards relating to our aircraft; our reliance on third-party suppliers and service partners; uncertainties related to our estimates of the size of the market for our service and future revenue opportunities; and other important factors discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on February 27, 2026, our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed with the SEC on May 6, 2026, and in future filings and other reports we file with or furnish to the SEC. Any such forward-looking statements represent management’s estimates and beliefs as of the date of this release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change.
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Joby Media:
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Source: Joby Aviation, Inc.