Joby Extends U.S. Air Force Contract, Bringing Total to $131 Million

Under the agreement, the eVTOL manufacturer will supply USAF with nine Joby electric air taxis.

Tuesday, April 25, 2023 at 05:50 PM ET

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A pair of U.S. Air Force pilots inspect Joby’s eVTOL air taxi before a remotely piloted test flight. [Credit: Joby Aviation]

Key Takeaways:

The U.S. Department of Defense is emerging as the primary early adopter of air taxi technology, preceding general civilian commuters.
Joby Aviation received a significant $55 million contract extension from the DoD, bringing its total contract value to $131 million.
Under this expanded agreement, Joby will deliver and operate nine five-seat electric air taxis for the Air Force, beginning next year, for logistics, personnel transport, and emergency medical responses.
Air Force pilots have already conducted successful remote test flights of Joby's aircraft, marking crucial operational milestones for integrating eVTOL technology into military use cases.

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At this point, we’ve all seen the Jetsonian visions of air taxis zipping people to their destinations through the air. But the early users of these services will not be commuters or soccer moms.

Rather, it’ll be the United States Department of Defense. The agency on Tuesday awarded a contract extension to Joby Aviation, one of the leaders in the young air taxi space, through Agility Prime, an initiative designed to get electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft off the ground. Agility Prime falls under AFWERX, the Air Force’s dedicated innovation arm.