Joby Aviation Goes from Strength to Strength After Latest U.S DOD Contract Now Valued at USD131 million
Yet more excellent news from Joby Aviation as the company announces today an extended contract with the U.S Department of Defence (DOD) worth an additional USD55 million, now valuing the deal at USD131 million, reports a press release.
As part of this agreement, “Joby will deliver and operate up to nine of its five-seat, low-noise, zero operating emissions aircraft, providing the Air Force and other federal agencies with first-hand experience of the performance of Joby’s aircraft and its potential applications,” explains the release.
The first two eVTOLs are expected to be delivered to Edwards Air Force Base, California, by early 2024, and will be employed to demonstrate a range of potential logistics use cases, including cargo and passenger transportation. These aircraft are expected to become the first eVTOLs to be stationed at a U.S military base.
Today’s news comes just a few days after four Air Force pilots, hosted by Joby at its manufacturing facility in Marina, California, became the first USAF personnel to fly an eVTOL as sole pilot-in-command via the full flight envelope, including transition from vertical to wing-borne. The flights, which were piloted remotely from the ground, came following completion of classroom-based and simulator training.
JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO of Joby, enthused, “The Agility Prime program is a remarkably successful example of how public-private partnerships can deliver trailblazing technology at speed.”
He continued, “As well as allowing us to explore the wide range of potential use cases across the U.S. government, our defence partners have also provided us with high-impact support as we prepare for commercial operations in 2025.” Adding, “We’re grateful for the support of the program and for the U.S. government’s wider commitment to global leadership in this important new sector.”
Lt. Col. Tom Meagher, AFWERX Prime Lead, remarked, “This next step of getting Air Force pilots trained and operating Joby aircraft at an Air Force installation is an incredibly important milestone for the program, providing key insights to actual operations and use case validation for Advanced Air Mobility aircraft.”
He continued, “Additionally, the Joby operations provide an outstanding opportunity for accelerated learning with the other Department of Defence services and government agencies, including NASA and the FAA.”
Edwards Air Force Base is the second largest base in the Air Force and has been the site of hundreds of significant aviation “firsts.” For example, it is where Capt. Chuck Yeager and the Bell X‑1 first broke the sound barrier on Oct. 14, 1947, the X‑15 became the first winged aircraft to fly Mach 4, 5 and 6 and the space shuttle first landed on its initial return from earth’s orbit.
Lt. Col. Adam Brooks, Edwards Air Force Base, Emerging Technologies Combined Test Force commander, commented, ”This opportunity will allow us first-hand experience with Joby’s revolutionary aircraft as we prepare to test this next generation of advanced air mobility.”
Joby’s partnership with the DOD began over five years ago and provides the company with access to testing facilities, early operational experience for government customers, as well as a partial offset to its research and development costs.
Since the Agility Prime program was established close to three years ago, the Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps have all expressed active interest in the capabilities of eVTOL aircraft, with Joby announcing last August that the Marine Corps would participate in government-directed flight tests and use case exploration, including resupply, personnel transport, and emergency medical response applications.
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(Images: DOD)
