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Joby Aviation Completes 3,100-Mile Autonomous Cross-Country Flight

Joby Aviation said an aircraft using its autonomy stack flew more than 3,100 miles across the United States without a human pilot taking control, a demonstration it ties to defense, freight and medical missions beyond its planned electric air taxi service.

AI News Feed · 2026-09-19 03:59

According to TechCrunch, the flight included autonomous taxiing, takeoffs, navigation and landings. The aircraft was remotely supervised from Joby's headquarters in California and from Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina. A pilot was on board for compliance, but Joby said the aircraft performed the entire operation autonomously.

Joby used a converted Cessna Caravan for the trip. The company said the aircraft is not finished flying: it will make its way back to the West Coast over the next two weeks, with stops in several cities including Louisville, Kentucky, and Salt Lake City.

Joby said the cross-country trip showed its autonomy technology can handle different environments and missions, including medical transport, disaster response and defense logistics. The effort points to a second business for a company best known for developing electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft for an eventual urban air taxi service. Joby has spent years developing its all-electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft and seeking type certification from the Federal Aviation Administration for it; the aircraft is intended to carry passengers on short trips in urban areas.

The autonomy stack is designed to be retrofitted onto a wide range of conventional aircraft. Joby plans to first bring to market a regional airframe equipped with the stack, which could be used for defense missions as well as commercial freight transport. The work has been supported by a $17 million Air Force contract with AFWERX.

Joby has had a long relationship with the U.S. Department of Defense and is pushing deeper into the military sector. In August it acquired Resonant Sciences for $500 million in cash and stock. The Ohio-based company, which makes radio frequency and sensor systems, is now part of a dedicated defense business inside Joby that includes projects such as the development of turbine-electric and hydrogen-electric aircraft and an autonomy technology stack.

Last year, Joby signed an agreement with defense contractor L3Harris Technologies to explore opportunities to develop a new class of aircraft for defense applications, specifically a gas-turbine hybrid vertical takeoff and landing aircraft capable of flying autonomously.

Editor's Summary

Joby Aviation says an aircraft using its autonomy technology completed a 3,100-mile autonomous flight across the United States, with remote supervision and a pilot aboard only for compliance. The company presents the trip as evidence that its autonomy stack can serve defense logistics, disaster response and medical transport, alongside its longer-running effort to certify electric air taxis. Joby has expanded in the defense sector through its $500 million purchase of Resonant Sciences and an agreement with L3Harris.