Joby and U.S. Air Force Complete Electric Aircraft Maintenance Training

By: Joby Aviation, Inc. via Business Wire

December 05, 2024 at 06:00 AM EST

Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE: JOBY), a company developing electric air taxis for commercial passenger service, today announced that it has completed a training program with the U.S. Air Force covering the maintenance of Joby’s electric aircraft.

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Joby and the U.S. Air Force completed a training program in Marina, California, focused on maintenance of the Joby aircraft. Photo: Joby Aviation

The maintenance training program, which trained several U.S. Air Force service members including a flight test pilot and aircraft maintainers, on the specifics of inspecting and maintaining Joby’s electric aircraft, was completed as part of the Company’s existing contract with AFWERX Agility Prime.

The four-week program took place at Joby’s flight test and manufacturing facilities in Marina, California, and was based on the Aircraft Maintenance Manual developed by Joby as part of the Company’s ongoing work towards aircraft type certification with the Federal Aviation Administration (“FAA”). The program included classroom instruction as well as hands-on completion of inspections and pre-flight checks on Joby’s production prototype aircraft.

“We’re pleased to have successfully completed another engagement with the U.S. Air Force, providing the government with a technical overview of electric aircraft maintenance operations while we received feedback from experienced service members to further hone our in-house maintenance training program,” said Bonny Simi, President of Operations at Joby.

In April 2023, Joby announced that four U.S. Air Force pilots had completed pilot training and become the first Air Force personnel to fly an electric vertical take-off and landing (“eVTOL”) aircraft as sole remote pilot-in-command through the full flight envelope, including transition from vertical to wingborne flight.

The Joby electric air taxi is designed to carry a pilot and four passengers at speeds of up to 200 mph, offering high-speed mobility with a fraction of the noise produced by helicopters and zero operating emissions.

About Joby

Joby Aviation, Inc. (NYSE: JOBY) is a California-based transportation company developing an all-electric, vertical take-off and landing air taxi which it intends to operate as part of a fast, quiet, and convenient service in cities around the world. To learn more, visit www.jobyaviation.com.

About AFRL

The Air Force Research Laboratory is the primary scientific research and development center for the Department of the Air Force. AFRL plays an integral role in leading the discovery, development, and integration of affordable warfighting technologies for our air, space and cyberspace force. With a workforce of more than 12,500 across nine technology areas and 40 other operations across the globe, AFRL provides a diverse portfolio of science and technology ranging from fundamental to advanced research and technology development. For more information, visit www.afresearchlab.com.

About AFWERX

As the innovation arm of the DAF and a directorate within the Air Force Research Laboratory, AFWERX brings cutting-edge American ingenuity from small businesses and start-ups to address the most pressing challenges of the DAF. AFWERX employs approximately 370 military, civilian and contractor personnel at five hubs and sites executing an annual $1.4 billion budget. Since 2019, AFWERX has executed over 6,200 new contracts worth more than $4.7 billion to strengthen the U.S. defense industrial base and drive faster technology transition to operational capability. For more information, visit: www.afwerx.com.

Forward Looking Statements

This press release contains “forward-looking statements” within the meaning of the “safe harbor” provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including but not limited to, statements regarding the development and performance of our aircraft, the growth of our manufacturing capabilities, our regulatory outlook, progress and timing; our business plan, objectives, goals and market opportunity; and our current expectations relating to our business, financial condition, results of operations, prospects, capital needs and growth of our operations. You can identify forward-looking statements by the fact that they do not relate strictly to historical or current facts. These statements may include words such as “anticipate”, “estimate”, “expect”, “project”, “plan”, “intend”, “believe”, “may”, “will”, “should”, “can have”, “likely” and other words and terms of similar meaning in connection with any discussion of the timing or nature of future operating or financial performance or other events. All forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including: our ability to launch our air taxi service and the growth of the urban air mobility market generally; our ability to produce aircraft that meet our performance expectations in the volumes and on the timelines that we project; the competitive environment in which we operate; our future capital needs; our ability to adequately protect and enforce our intellectual property rights; our ability to effectively respond to evolving regulations and standards relating to our aircraft; our reliance on third-party suppliers and service partners; uncertainties related to our estimates of the size of the market for our service and future revenue opportunities; and other important factors discussed in the section titled “Risk Factors” in our Annual Report on Form 10-K, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) on February 27, 2024, our Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q, filed with the SEC on November 6, 2024, and in future filings and other reports we file with or furnish to the SEC. Any such forward-looking statements represent management’s estimates and beliefs as of the date of this release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change.