Air Force

The company will inherit several pending patents and government contracts to ramp up development of its hybrid-electric propulsion system.

The manufacturer’s HEX testbed and demonstrator aircraft will help it evaluate a future family of large, self-flying VTOL models.

During the trials, the aircraft’s electronics and instrumentation are evaluated in temperatures ranging from 110 degrees to minus-25 degrees Fahrenheit.

The light eVTOL manufacturer is working with AFWERX, the innovation arm of the U.S. Air Force, to assess the aircraft for a range of use cases.

The company is now ramping up to for-credit FAA testing and expects to produce 12 aircraft this year, among other projections.

The Boston-based company says the approval puts it on a viable path to certification and commercial operations for Merlin Pilot, its flagship autonomous flight system.

Xwing and fellow autonomous flight provider Reliable Robotics are now among a handful of emerging aviation firms with military airworthiness approvals.

Electric aircraft manufacturer Beta hopes to take its conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL) Alia to market in 2025.

The detachment is the first active-duty flight training unit based at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, since the end of World War II.

The company retrofits Cessna Caravans with its continuous autopilot system that automates all phases of flight, from takeoff to landing.