Joby Aviation plans to deliver two of its eVTOL aircraft to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, the company announced on March 19. MacDill will be the second USAF base to obtain a Joby eVTOL aircraft, following the company’s first-ever delivery to Edwards Air Force Base in California last September. Joby says it intends to ship a second aircraft to Edwards later this year, followed by the two deliveries to MacDill in 2025.
The U.S. Air Force’s Afwerx innovation unit has been working with Joby since 2016 and has awarded the company an Agility Prime contract worth up to $131 million. As part of that contract, Joby has agreed to deliver up to nine of its five-seat eVTOL air taxis to the USAF, which is evaluating potential military applications for the novel type of aircraft.
“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,” said Joby founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt. “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.”
Since Joby’s first aircraft arrived at Edwards, the 412th Test Wing has been using it for on-base testing and experimentation to inform subsequent operational tests, which will take place at MacDill. During its deployment at MacDill, Joby will have its first experience working directly with the Department of Defense’s operational units, who will use the eVTOL aircraft “to carry out representative logistics missions and test use cases in personnel transport, casualty evacuation, and support of security forces,” the company said in a statement.
“This work will provide Joby with valuable early operational experience, while providing the USAF with firsthand understanding of the performance of our aircraft and its potential applications,” added Bevirt.
Joby became the first company to obtain military airworthiness approval for an eVTOL aircraft in 2020, and it’s expected to be among the first companies to achieve FAA type certification in 2025. In February, Joby announced that it had completed the third of five stages in its type certification process, and just last week the FAA published its final airworthiness criteria for Joby’s eVTOL aircraft.
The aircraft that Joby is delivering to the USAF are so-called “company-conforming” prototypes assembled at its pilot production facility in Marina, California. A Joby spokesperson told AIN that the Marina facility currently has “one aircraft in final assembly, and two more aircraft being assembled right behind it.”
It's not yet clear whether all nine of the aircraft that Joby has committed to the USAF will be the same “company-conforming” version. Depending on the timing of Joby's type certification process, later deliveries could potentially include the FAA-certified, production-conforming model.