- Plane geared up with Joby’s autonomy know-how completes first-ever autonomous flight throughout the US, arriving in North Carolina’s Outer Banks
- Plane lined 3,199 miles with zero management inputs from onboard security pilot, together with autonomous taxi, takeoff, cruise, and touchdown, supervised remotely from as much as 2,323 miles away
- Milestone demonstrates real-world operational maturity, security, and dual-use utility of Joby’s autonomy know-how for industrial freight, emergency response, and protection logistics
- Historic low cross over Kitty Hawk honors the birthplace of contemporary aviation whereas validating versatile, low-cost autonomous entry to distant and regional communities
SANTA CRUZ, Calif.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE: JOBY) right this moment introduced that an plane geared up with its autonomy know-how has accomplished the first-ever autonomous flight throughout the US. The plane flew 3,199 miles with zero management inputs from its onboard security pilot, concluding the eastbound leg of its month-long tour in North Carolina’s Outer Banks, close to the positioning of the Wright brothers’ first powered flight.
This press launch options multimedia. View the total launch right here: https://www.businesswire.com/information/house/20260918301340/en/
Joby Aviation’s autonomous J208 plane proven in flight throughout key milestones of its historic 3,199-mile transcontinental journey throughout America. (Clockwise from prime left) Departing the Pacific coast close to Harmony, CA (KCCR); flying over the San Francisco Bay Space skyline; navigating high-altitude mountain terrain throughout the American West; and finishing a low cross previous Bodie Island Lighthouse in North Carolina’s Outer Banks close to Kitty Hawk. (Picture: Joby Aviation)
The plane, a transformed Cessna Caravan, carried out autonomous taxiing, takeoffs, route navigation, and landings underneath distant supervision from Joby’s Autonomy Headquarters in California and Shaw Air Power Base in South Carolina, as much as 2,323 miles away. The journey demonstrated the operational capabilities of Joby’s autonomy know-how throughout a variety of environments, supporting functions in industrial freight, medical transport, catastrophe response, and protection logistics.
By integrating an autonomous system onto an already-certified airframe, Joby presents a scalable path to autonomous air logistics. Through the cross-country journey, the plane proved its means to seamlessly combine into high-density environments like Phoenix Deer Valley, one of many nation’s busiest normal aviation airports, whereas rerouting round extreme climate and thunderstorms in actual time with out prior airport familiarity.
“This journey throughout America presents a glimpse into a brand new period of aviation,” mentioned JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO of Joby Aviation. “Autonomy has an necessary position to play in the way forward for flight, permitting us to attach distant communities, ship essential provides, reply sooner to disasters, assist navy operations, and maintain pilots out of hurt’s manner.”
Accomplished Eastbound Milestones
As a part of Joby’s 2026 Electrical Skies tour, the eastbound leg featured flight demonstrations, logistics showcases, and key operational milestones throughout the next stops:
- Harmony, CA (KCCR): Departed from Buchanan Area Airport, launching the three,199-mile transcontinental autonomous flight route.
- Phoenix, AZ (KDVT): Demonstrated dual-use autonomy applied sciences for protection, first responders, and cargo functions, as a part of Arizona’s position within the uFLY coalition.
- Fort Value, TX (KAFW): Showcased autonomous freight potential at Alliance Airport, a serious U.S. industrial logistics hub. The cease coincided with Joby’s first air taxi eIPP flight throughout the White Home-backed program, hosted alongside U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
- Shaw Air Power Base, SC (KSSC): Performed a functionality demonstration of consultant navy flight operations and tactical protection readiness.
- Outer Banks, NC (KMQI): Marked the transcontinental milestone with an autonomous touchdown at Dare County Regional Airport.
Honoring Aviation Historical past at Kitty Hawk & Increasing Distant Entry
Following its transcontinental arrival, the J208 flew a historic low cross close to the First Flight Monument at Kitty Hawk, honoring the positioning the place Orville and Wilbur Wright ushered within the age of powered flight in 1903. The plane then landed at Dare County Regional Airport (KMQI), demonstrating how versatile, lower-cost autonomous flights can broaden point-to-point air logistics and ship essential medical provides and emergency freight to distant, underserved communities.
In North Carolina, flights supported NCDOT’s eLIFT-NC initiative for statewide healthcare logistics, whereas western flights contributed to UDOT’s multi-state uFLY coalition to guage high-altitude, extreme-environment airspace integration for the FAA.
Confirmed Operational Monitor Document
Joby’s autonomous know-how is grounded in additional than 400 flights and 800 automated flight hours in managed and uncontrolled airspace, constructing on the mature autonomy stack acquired from Xwing in 2024. The system has additionally been confirmed in three main U.S. navy workouts, together with Air Power readiness train Agile Flag, the place it delivered essential substitute elements 24 hours sooner than typical logistics, and REFORPAC, the place plane in Hawaii had been operated remotely from Guam, almost 4,000 miles away.
The plane will now start its return westbound journey, together with stops in Raleigh (KRDU), Fredericksburg/Washington, D.C. (KRMN), Louisville (KSDF), Wichita (KICT), Oklahoma Metropolis (KOKC), Salt Lake Metropolis (KSLC), and Portland (KPDX).
Media Availability & B-Roll: Excessive-resolution video footage of the coast-to-coast flight and pictures of coast-to-coast stops, together with the Outer Banks touchdown, are accessible right here.
About Joby Aviation
Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE: JOBY) is a next-generation aviation firm primarily based in California. Its plane, propulsion and autonomy applied sciences span each industrial aviation and protection functions. Joby additionally operates Blade, a number one city air mobility enterprise offering passenger transportation companies in the US and Europe. Joby intends to function its quick, quiet and handy air taxi service in cities all over the world and promote its plane to different operators and companions. To study extra, go to www.jobyaviation.com.
Ahead-Wanting Statements
This launch accommodates “forward-looking statements” throughout the which means of the “secure harbor” provisions of the Non-public Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, together with however not restricted to, statements concerning the event and efficiency of our plane, our regulatory outlook, progress and timing; our deliberate operations together with places of future demonstration flights; our marketing strategy, goals, objectives and market alternative; and our present expectations referring to our enterprise, monetary situation, outcomes of operations, prospects, capital wants and development of our operations. You possibly can determine forward-looking statements by the truth that they don’t relate strictly to historic or present information. These statements could embody phrases similar to “anticipate”, “estimate”, “count on”, “undertaking”, “plan”, “intend”, “consider”, “could”, “will”, “ought to”, “can have”, “doubtless” and different phrases and phrases of comparable which means in reference to any dialogue of the timing or nature of future working or monetary efficiency or different occasions. All ahead wanting statements are topic to dangers and uncertainties that will trigger precise outcomes to vary materially, together with: our means to launch our air taxi service and the expansion of the city air mobility market usually; our means to supply plane that meet our efficiency expectations within the volumes and on the timelines that we undertaking; the aggressive setting wherein we function; our future capital wants; our means to adequately defend and implement our mental property rights; our means to successfully reply to evolving rules and requirements referring to our plane; our reliance on third-party suppliers and repair companions; uncertainties associated to our estimates of the dimensions of the marketplace for our service and future income alternatives; and different necessary components mentioned within the part titled “Danger Elements” in our Annual Report on Type 10-Okay, filed with the Securities and Alternate Fee (the “SEC”) on February 27, 2026, our Quarterly Report on Type 10-Q, filed with the SEC on Could 6, 2026, and in future filings and different experiences we file with or furnish to the SEC. Any such forward-looking statements signify administration’s estimates and beliefs as of the date of this launch. Whereas we could elect to replace such forward-looking statements sooner or later sooner or later, we disclaim any obligation to take action, even when subsequent occasions trigger our views to vary.
View supply model on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/information/house/20260918301340/en/
Joby Media:
Christine Theodorou
press@jobyaviation.com
Joby Traders:
buyers@jobyaviation.com
Supply: Joby Aviation, Inc.
Launched September 18, 2026







