Hanneke Weitering is a writer and editor with AIN covering advanced air mobility and new flight technologies. She became an aviation journalist and joined the AIN team in the summer of 2022 after reporting on spaceflight and astronomy for six years at Space.com. After earning a bachelor’s degree in physics from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, she moved to New York City to pursue a master’s degree in science, health, and environmental reporting at New York University&#039;s Arthur L. Carter Journalism Institute. She is now based in Seattle near Boeing Field and spends her free time exploring nature in the Pacific Northwest.

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L3Harris Technologies is teaming up with eVTOL manufacturer Joby Aviation to develop an autonomous, hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft for defense applications, the companies announced August 1. Designed for low-altitude missions below 10,000 feet, the optionally piloted aircraft will feature a gas turbine hybrid powertrain.
Joby and L3Harris aim to begin flight testing the new aircraft in the fall, and next year the partners will conduct operational demonstrations during <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/futureflight/2024-08-26/us-air-force-trials-autonomous-flights-joby-reliable-robotics">government exercises</a>. They have not yet disclosed what the targeted range for the aircraft, which is intended to protect ground forces and critical assets.
While Joby is working to certify its piloted, four-passenger JAS4-1 eVTOL aircraft for commercial air taxi operations, it has also been collaborating with the U.S. Air Force since 2016 to explore defense applications for the all-electric vehicle. The Santa Cruz, California-based company has already delivered two eVTOL aircraft to Edwards Air Force Base in Southern California and plans to deliver two more to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, this year.&nbsp;
“We have worked closely with the Department of Defense over the past decade to give them a front row seat to the development of our dual-purpose technology, and we’re now ready to demonstrate and deploy it,” said Joby founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt. “Our country depends on companies like ours moving at pace, and we have the team, the technology and the platform to do just that.”
L3Harris, a Florida-based defense contractor, brings to the table a wealth of expertise on platform missionization. The company develops and manufactures a variety of products for uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), including command-and-control systems, wireless communications technologies, sensors, effectors, and software.&nbsp;
“The next generation of vertical lift technology enables long-range, crewed-uncrewed teaming for a range of missions,” said Jon Rambeau, president of integrated mission systems at L3Harris. “We share a vision with Joby to deliver urgently required innovation by missionizing VTOL aircraft for defense applications.”
Last year, Joby began flying an experimental <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/futureflight/2024-07-11/joby-and-h2fly-fly-hydrogen-powered-evtol-aircraft">hydrogen-powered version of its aircraft</a> using a hydrogen fuel cell powertrain developed by its German subsidiary H2Fly. That aircraft completed numerous flights over 500 miles and achieved a maximum range of 561 miles—more than five times the range of Joby’s purely battery-electric model. Joby and L3Harris have not yet disclosed an anticipated range for the gas turbine hybrid model.&nbsp;
Meanwhile, Joby has also been quietly advancing autonomous flight technologies through <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/futureflight/2024-06-04/joby-aviation-acquires-autonomous-flight-pioneer-xwing">its Xwing subsidiary</a>, which the company acquired in June 2024. Last month Joby flew what is widely <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/futureflight/2025-07-14/joby-flies-hydrogen-powered-uas-9-hours">suspected to be a hydrogen-powered UAS</a> for more than nine hours straight during a test flight at the ​​Pendleton UAS Range near Eastern Oregon Regional Airport.&nbsp;
Joby is not the first U.S. eVTOL start-up to jump into the defense sector with plans for a hybrid, militarized version of their original air taxi design. In December, Archer Aviation announced it had partnered with defense tech company Anduril Industries <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2024-12-12/archer-plans-hybrid-vtol-aircraft-military-use">to develop a hybrid VTOL aircraft</a> that the partners intend to pitch to the U.S. Department of Defense. Archer has also previously delivered an example of its four-passenger Midnight eVTOL aircraft <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/defense/2024-08-16/archer-delivers-first-midnight-evtol-aircraft-us-air-force">to the Air Force</a> for evaluation.

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