An aircraft fitted with Joby Aviation's autonomy technology has completed a flight of more than 3,100 miles across the United States, the company announced on Friday. The aircraft flew without a human pilot taking control at any point.
Joby Aviation stated that the cross-country trip, described as the "first-ever autonomous flight across the United States," involved autonomous taxiing, takeoffs, navigation, and landings. The aircraft was remotely supervised from Joby's headquarters in California and Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina. A pilot was on board for compliance, but the company confirmed the aircraft performed the entire operation autonomously.
The company used a converted Cessna Caravan aircraft for the journey. Joby indicated that the flight demonstrated its autonomy technology's capability to handle various environments and missions, including medical transport, disaster response, and defense logistics.
The aircraft is expected to return to the West Coast over the next two weeks, with planned stops in cities such as Louisville, Kentucky, and Salt Lake City.