Advanced Air Mobility Modern Flying News

Joby Acquires Autonomous Flight Developer Xwing

The electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi manufacturer in the future will look to integrate autonomy onto its flagship aircraft.

Tuesday, June 04, 2024 at 02:40 PM ET

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Joby’s eVTOL air taxi will initially be flown by an onboard pilot, but the manufacturer is exploring autonomous operations in the future. [Courtesy: Joby Aviation]

Key Takeaways:

Joby Aviation acquired Xwing's autonomy division and its Superpilot flight software, aiming to accelerate the development of self-flying eVTOL air taxis for future scalability and affordability.
This acquisition underscores Joby's belief that autonomy is critical for widespread advanced air mobility, despite initial commercial services launching with onboard pilots.
Xwing's Superpilot technology brings proven AI and machine learning capabilities for autonomous flight, having achieved FAA project designation for commercial cargo and military airworthiness.
The deal also strengthens Joby's partnership with the U.S. Department of Defense, which is interested in leveraging autonomous systems for safer logistics and defense applications.

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Joby Aviation is one of many electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) air taxi manufacturers that predicts autonomy will be the driver of ubiquity for advanced air mobility (AAM) services. And it’s putting its money where its mouth is.

Joby on Tuesday announced it acquired the autonomy division of Xwing, the developer of autonomous gate-to-gate flight software Superpilot, as it looks ahead to a transition to self-flying air taxi services. The manufacturer plans to initially operate the aircraft with onboard pilots and has a partnership with Delta Air Lines to launch commercial service as early as next year, beginning in New York and Los Angeles.

Jack Daleo

Jack is a staff writer covering advanced air mobility, including everything from drones to unmanned aircraft systems to space travel—and a whole lot more. He spent close to two years reporting on drone delivery for FreightWaves, covering the biggest news and developments in the space and connecting with industry executives and experts. Jack is also a basketball aficionado, a frequent traveler and a lover of all things logistics.