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2w ago

Joby’s Superpilot Completes 7,000-Mile Autonomous Campaign in Pacific Exercise

The results strengthen Joby’s case for Pentagon programs, including an optionally piloted hybrid VTOL effort with L3Harris.

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Overview

  • During PACAF’s REFORPAC trials from July 10 to August 8, a Superpilot-equipped Cessna 208 conducted supervised autonomous operations across Hawaii and the Pacific.
  • The campaign logged 7,342 miles in 43.7 hours overall, including six sorties totaling 2,416 miles and a 4,925-mile roundtrip Pacific ferry.
  • Flights were managed from remote ground stations, primarily from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam more than 3,000 miles away, with an onboard safety pilot for oversight.
  • Missions included cargo delivery, hub-and-spoke logistics, inter-island transport and ISR, flown under VFR and IFR in Class B, C, D and uncontrolled airspace.
  • Joby says the performance supports DoD needs for light intra-theater lift, and cites a $9.4 billion FY2026 request for autonomous and hybrid aircraft as it targets trials of an optionally piloted hybrid S4 with L3Harris in 2025 and customer demos in 2026.