Overview
- Joby announced on Friday, Sept. 18, 2026, that a converted Cessna Caravan flew roughly 3,199 miles from Concord, California, to Dare County, North Carolina, with autonomous taxiing, takeoffs, route navigation and landings.
- The flight included stops in Phoenix, Fort Worth and Shaw Air Force Base and performed real‑time rerouting around severe weather while making a symbolic low pass near Kitty Hawk.
- Joby says the autonomy stack, acquired from Xwing in 2024, has logged more than 400 flights and about 800 automated hours and has been exercised in multiple U.S. military drills.
- Operations used long‑distance remote supervision from Joby’s autonomy center and Shaw AFB at distances up to about 2,323 miles, with an onboard safety pilot who made no control inputs and a remote pilot serving as pilot‑in‑command.
- Markets reacted coolly despite the milestone as JOBY shares slipped about 2% on the announcement day and CEO JoeBen Bevirt disclosed sales of more than 606,000 shares under a prearranged trading plan, underscoring investor concern about capital needs and regulatory hurdles before commercial service.