The US companies Joby Aviation and L3Harris Technologies have announced a new strategic partnership to develop a hybridelectric EVTOL aircraft with a focus on military applications.
The project is aimed at the originally fully electrical model Joby S4 To adapt so that it can be operated with a new gas turbine -based drive system. This creates a concept for a vertical and landing plane (VTOL) that can optionally manned or operated autonomously.
According to the message, the military performance of the aircraft is to be assessed at low -flying missions, with the focus on operational versatility. The aircraft is designed for both manned and autonomous operations to expand its possible uses in various mission scenarios.
The schedule stipulates that experimental flights start with the new hybrid Evtol by the end of 2025, with demonstrations that are planned for 2026.
Although Joby is mainly active in the civilian area, the company has already worked with the US Air Force and delivered electric aircraft prototypes in the agility Prime program, which has now been set. In recent years, the company has received more than $ 130 million from the Air Force to support the development of its vertical starting technology.
Since fully electric battery -operated aircraft only have a limited range, especially for military operations in the Indopazific, the US Air Force in 2024 relied on hybridelectric drive solutions that better meet the current tactical and operational requirements.
The new partnership between Joby and L3Harris is intended to close this gap by combining Joby’s expertise in the field of advanced air mobility with the integration and defense skills of L3Harris.
Source and picture: Joby Aviation. This content was created with the help of AI and checked by the editorial team.
