Electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) company Joby Aviation’s strategy for its commercial launch in 2025 is becoming clearer.
The startup was awarded a $55 million contract from the US Department of Defense on Tuesday, a deal that will allow the company to get its aircraft in the hands of customers and start generating revenue before it has earned certification. from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
This is because Joby is following two paths to market: a broader commercial service that requires FAA certification, and a government service that requires Department of Defense military airworthiness. The first includes certification of aircraft design, production and maintenance, as well as pilot training and operating procedures. The latter is more focused on ensuring that an aircraft meets the needs of military operations.
Both certifications still come from the FAA, which in November issued airworthiness criteria for Joby to certify its Model JAS4-1 aircraft for operation in US airspace. The company had also previously received Air Force airworthiness approval for an unmanned electric aircraft in 2020.
When it comes to Joby’s other marketing avenue, which is similar to a ride-sharing app where customers pay to be transported via Joby’s air taxis, the company is doing away with FAA requirements. In FebruaryJoby has started final assembly of his company-compliant eVTOL, which is a prototype that is a couple of steps away from final version.
The company has also completed the second stage of a process with the FAA to achieve type certification. Joby still has a few more stages in that process before it can move on to production certification, which will allow the company to mass-produce its eVTOLs.
There is a lot of overlap between the two paths to certification. Paul Sciarra, Joby’s chief executive, says the value of that is two-fold.
“One is that basically we can get the product into the hands of customers much faster, generate revenue faster, but then we also learn what it takes to operate these planes, what it takes to train the pilots, what it takes to it is needed to dispatch the vehicles,” Sciarra told TechCrunch. “And we do it in a smaller, more controlled environment before bringing it to the broader consumer side.”
The latest injection of capital from the Department of Defense marks Joby’s third extension of your Agility Prime contract with the US Air Force, an initiative launched in April 2020 to test, experiment and accelerate the development of eVTOL for cross-commercial and military use. This week’s contract brings the total potential value of Joby’s current contract to $131 million, according to the company.
As part of the agreement, Joby will deliver and operate up to nine of its five-seat silent electric aircraft, with the first two expected to be delivered to Edwards Air Force Base in California by spring 2024. Joby’s eVTOLs will be used to demonstrate logistics use cases, such as transporting people and cargo, as well as possible medical evacuations.
Joby will retain ownership of the aircraft, while providing flight training to military pilots. Training sessions have already begun at Joby’s manufacturing facility in Marina, California. Earlier this month, four pilots became the first Air Force personnel to fly Joby’s eVTOL through the full flight envelope, including the transition from vertical to winged flight. The flights were piloted remotely from the ground and the pilots were trained in a combination of classroom training and a simulator, the company said.
“This next step of training Air Force pilots and operating Joby aircraft at an Air Force facility is an incredibly important milestone for the program, providing key insight into actual operations and validation of aircraft use cases. advanced air mobility,” said Lt. Col. Tom Meagher, division leader for Agility Prime, in a statement. “In addition, Joby’s operations provide an excellent opportunity to accelerate learning with other Department of Defense services and government agencies, including NASA and the FAA.”
Sciarra said that the initial deployment of Joby is expected to be the first stage of even larger contracts with different government agencies over time.
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