Beta and Near Earth Autonomy Partner on Uncrewed Alia Aircraft

Beta Technologies has enlisted Near Earth Autonomy to help bring autonomous flight capabilities to its Alia family of electric and hybrid-electric aircraft.  While Beta remains focused on certifying its piloted, six-seat Alia CX300 electric airplane and the Alia 250 eVTOL model for commercial operations, the company recently revealed it has also been developing an uncrewed, hybrid-electric version dubbed the Alia MV250 for defense applications. 

The Vermont-based electric aviation company said in a November 20 statement that it “has been developing and flying autonomous capabilities for the past several years, conducting more than 1,000 hours of uncrewed flights on a fleet of subscale aircraft with a demonstrated range of more than 158 nautical miles on a single charge.”

Near Earth Autonomy develops autonomous flight control systems for a variety of rotorcraft, including large helicopters, small cargo drones, and eVTOL aircraft. Earlier this year, the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based company demonstrated its autonomous flight control system on a modified Leonardo AW139 helicopter. 

“This collaboration builds on Near Earth’s proven work of bringing responsive uncrewed capability (RUC) to helicopters, such as converting the UH-60L Black Hawk to RUC-60, enabling helicopter operations without onboard pilots,” said Near Earth CEO Sanjiv Singh. “By leveraging the technology foundation, operational experience, and certification groundwork established through the RUC-60 program, we will help integrate advanced autonomy into Alia to enable safe, efficient, and scalable operations across a wide range of missions.” 

According to Beta, the initial integration of Near Earth’s perception and guidance suite into the Alia’s fly-by-wire flight control system is now complete, and the partners intend to begin flight testing the autonomous Alia in the first half of 2026. 

In September, Beta announced a partnership with engine maker GE Aerospace to jointly develop a hybrid-electric turbogenerator for military and civil aircraft. Plans for the MV250 were revealed later that month, when Beta filed an S-1 form with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission detailing its plans to go public. In the same SEC filing, the company revealed additional plans to develop a 19-seat regional airliner, although it has not yet specified whether this larger model will feature a purely battery-powered or hybrid-electric propulsion system. 

“Increasing our autonomy capabilities will deliver even greater optionality to operators, including faster speed, higher payload, longer range, and optional piloting,” said Shawn Hall, Beta’s chief revenue officer. “In order to meet the demands of the defense and civil sectors today, mobility platforms must be smarter, more flexible, and ready to operate where traditional systems can’t.”