The U.S. Air Force (USAF) last week awarded Joby Aviation airworthiness approval for the four-seat eVTOL aircraft it is developing. The move marks the first time the service has approved an eVTOL aircraft and clears the way for it to be used to carry cargo and personnel for the U.S. military.
The December 10 announcement was made by Dr. Will Roper, acquisition, technology, and logistics chief for the U.S. Air Force and Space Force, during the AFWERX Accelerate conference organized by its Agility Prime program. This provides a funded platform to stimulate the development and commercialization of new aircraft technology, including autonomous flight capability and electric propulsion, for possible defense applications.
According to California-based Joby, the USAF endorsement will help it to accelerate the testing, development, and certification of its aircraft. Evaluation of the prototype for its unnamed four-passenger eVTOL design through Agility Prime has led to a determination that it “meets Air Force standards for flight.” According to a Joby spokesman, the USAF approval constitutes “a really significant step towards eventual commercial certification.”
Joby Aviation CEO JoeBen Bevirt told the AFWERX event that the company's first year as part of the Agility Prime program has significantly boosted its work. "This program has given us access to facilities, resources, and equipment that accelerated testing to prove out the reliability and performance of the aircraft," he said. "In the next phase, we will demonstrate the full flight envelope, giving out government partners a front-row seat into the transformative new technology."
Currently, 19 companies are participating in what Agility Prime calls the Air Race, for which first government contracts were awarded in October. Five other companies also have aircraft in flight testing and these include Elroy Air, Phenix Solutions, Lift Aircraft, Beta Technologies, and Moog.
According to Dr. Roper, three more aircraft developers are now seeking USAF airworthiness approvals and his team expects to issue more during 2021. The Air Force is looking to acquire aircraft ready to begin operations in 2023.
The Pentagon’s endorsement for Joby came in the same week that it announced it will acquire the Uber Elevate urban air mobility platform, which is aiming to start air taxi services in 2023. This transaction, subject to regulatory approval, is expected to be completed in the first quarter of 2021.
