Joby Conducts First Flight of Demo Turbine-Electric VTOL

Joby Aviation’s turbine-electric, autonomous vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) demonstrator aircraft | Photo: Joby Aviation

Joby Aviation has carried out the first flight of its turbine-electric, autonomous vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) demonstrator aircraft. The flight took place on November 7 at the company’s facility in Marina, California.

The demonstrator incorporates a hybrid turbine power-train into Joby’s existing electric air taxi platform and includes the company’s SuperPilot™ autonomous flight system. The new configuration is intended to increase range and payload capacity and is being developed for both commercial and defense applications.

The aircraft’s first flight follows three months after Joby announced the hybrid concept and a partnership with L3Harris Technologies. Under the partnership, L3Harris will equip the aircraft with systems for military and government use, including sensors, communication equipment, and mission systems for roles such as contested logistics, “loyal wingman” operations, and low-altitude support.

“It’s imperative that we find ways to deliver new technology into the hands of American troops more quickly and cost-efficiently than we have in the past,” said JoeBen Bevirt, CEO and Founder of Joby. “Our vertical integration puts us in a unique position to deliver on this goal, moving from concept to demonstration — and from demonstration to deployment — at a pace that is unprecedented in today’s aerospace and defense industry.”

Joby stated that the hybrid demonstrator will continue with ground and flight testing before taking part in operational demonstrations with government customers in 2026.

“The future battlefield relies on unmanned systems augmenting manned platforms, and our partnership with Joby accelerates missionized VTOL aircraft to directly support defense requirements,” said Jason Lambert, President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance at L3Harris.

The company said the demonstrator builds on its all-electric aircraft, which has logged over 50,000 miles of flight testing and is in the final phase of Federal Aviation Administration type certification.