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 spearheading the early adoption of air taxi services, awarding a significant contract extension to Joby Aviation through its Agility Prime initiative.
The latest extension adds $55 million, bringing Joby's total contract value with the DoD to approximately $131 million.
Under this contract, Joby Aviation will deliver and operate nine five-seat electric air taxis for the Air Force, starting next year, to demonstrate logistics, passenger, and cargo transport use cases.
Air Force pilots have already commenced remote flight training with Joby's eVTOL aircraft, preparing for operational deployment at military bases.

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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.