Xwing Awarded Military Airworthiness for Autonomous Cessna Caravan

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

Jack Daleo

Wednesday, February 14, 2024 at 03:39 PM ET

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Air Force personnel stand in front of Xwing’s N101XW aircraft, a Cessna Grand Caravan modified for autonomous flight. [Courtesy: Xwing]

Key Takeaways:

AFWERX granted Xwing military airworthiness for its autonomous Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, allowing it to perform cargo missions for the U.S. Air Force in unrestricted airspace.
Xwing's autonomous aircraft successfully integrated into national airspace during the Air Force’s Agile Flag 24-1 exercise, demonstrating its capability for time-sensitive cargo delivery across various public and military airports.
The autonomous flights proved beneficial for military logistics by offering rapid, cost-effective, and low-risk delivery of critical cargo, aligning with the agile combat employment (ACE) concept and reducing the need for traditional heavy-lift aircraft.
This milestone signifies a crucial step in advancing autonomous flight technology for military applications, with future plans for further integration into exercises and eventual commercial sector deployment.

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Autonomous flight technology will be deployed by the U.S. military before making its way to the commercial sector.

AFWERX, the innovation arm of the U.S. Air Force, has awarded autonomy technology provider Xwing military airworthiness for its self-flying Cessna 208B Grand Caravan in the form of a Military Flight Release (MFR), allowing it to perform cargo missions for the Air Force in unrestricted airspace.