December 11 is the submission deadline for Stage 1 of GoAERO—a three-year contest backed by NASA, Boeing, RTX, and other key aviation stakeholders seeking to aid the estimated 4.5 million Americans living in “ambulance deserts,” who may need to wait longer than 25 minutes for emergency services to arrive. The aircraft created by competitors could rescue people in danger and respond to disasters, medical emergencies, or humanitarian crises.

Officially launched on February 5, GoAERO (Aerial Emergency Response Operations) has been recruiting teams of university students who lack the financial backing of large corporations. But the competition is open to just about anyone over the age of 18, GoAERO founder and CEO Gwen Lighter told FLYING.

“It is a call for engineers and entrepreneurs and innovators and universities and students and professors and retirees and businesses and corporations and all of that to join us and to create these emergency response fliers,” said Lighter.

Lighter envisions GoAERO’s emergency response flyers as “another tool in the first response toolkit.” Helicopters, she said, are great for emergency response but are expensive to procure and operate, require a pilot, and struggle to operate in tight spaces.

Drones, at the other end of the spectrum, are excellent for delivering medical supplies. Drone delivery companies Zipline and Wing, for instance, have collectively transported hundreds of thousands of shipments of blood, vaccines, and equipment. But when it comes to search and rescue, drones can only complete the latter portion of the mission.

“What we are doing is we are saying, ‘OK, helicopters are one end of the spectrum, drones are the other,’ and then putting them together, molding them into something that can deliver a first responder to someone in need, rescue someone who needs help, deliver needed goods and supplies, all within the rubric of natural disasters, everyday medical emergencies, events caused by climate change, humanitarian crises,” Lighter said.

The aircraft are intended to be simple, compact, and uncrewed, flying either entirely on their own or with help from a remote pilot. They must also be easily transportable, deployable within minutes, and capable of delivering first responders, patients, or supplies in cities, rural areas, and disaster zones.

Aviation for Public Good

Lighter previously organized GoAERO’s predecessor GoFLY, which similarly sought to put groundbreaking technology into the hands of people who otherwise would not have access. But whereas GoFLY was geared toward personal, recreational flight, GoAERO is about helping others.

“GoAERO is really focused on a singular mission, which is saving lives,” Lighter said. “It is aviation for public good.”

According to Lighter, all GoFLY partners have signed on to the new initiative, and even more have joined. Boeing is the lead GoAERO sponsor, but the contest is also backed by RTX, Honeywell, Iridium, and industry groups such as the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association (AOPA) and International Council of the Aeronautical Sciences (ICAS). First responders, aviation regulators, and other organizations are on board.

“We’ve had hundreds of discussions with not only aviation [firms], but first responders in a wide variety of different types of response, whether that is search and rescue, whether that is wildfire, whether that is earthquake, whether that is everyday medical emergencies and EMTs,” said Lighter.

She added: “Collectively, we have landed on these technical rules and specifications to create aircraft that really allow first responders to be first responders, rather than pilots and all of these other things.”

GoAERO will provide teams with some design guidelines. But Lighter told FLYING that the goal is for participants to produce a wide range of designs. Teams will be permitted to focus on medical needs and disaster scenarios specific to their area, for example.

“Success for us looks like in three years, at the end of the competition, that we have a multitude of different flyers that show up, and some are better in everyday medical emergencies, and some are better in urban environments, and some are better in remote environments, and some are better in wildfires,” said Lighter.

Participants will have some help from above. The competition offers what Lighter called a “full education platform,” with educational webinars, legal assistance, and one-on-one mentorship opportunities with experts from Boeing, U.S. government agencies such as the FAA or Department of Defense, and other mentors. Those relationships can help them refine design concepts, build autonomy, or raise funding.

GoAERO earlier this month, for example, signed a Space Act Agreement with NASA that will see the space agency lend its personnel to the initiative. NASA also committed $400,000 through its University Innovation Project to support U.S.-based university teams and will grant access to free or discounted software, services, and products.

“I think GoAERO represents bringing the best of aeronautics and aviation to the public space, to public good, making sure that we are bringing our capabilities, our technologies, our genius together to work for the American people and for the people across the globe that need these kind of services,” said Bob Pearce, associate administrator of NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate (ARMD) and GoAERO mentor.

The Fly-Off

The GoAERO competition will culminate in a three-day “fly-off” beginning February 2027, during which teams will put their aircraft through a series of missions to gauge adversity, productivity, and maneuverability.

At stake are $2 million worth of prizes, including a $1 million grand prize for the winner. In addition, the top performer in each of the three fly-off missions will win $150,000. A $100,000 RTX Disruptor Award will be handed out for “disruptive advancement of the state of the art,” while a $100,000 autonomy prize will highlight the best use of automation.

All missions will be flown in a single-occupant aircraft carrying a mannequin, “Alex,” or other nonhuman payload. The contest will evaluate a range of different scenarios, testing competitors’ ability to save an injured person from under a forest canopy, douse a wildfire, rescue a drowning victim, and complete other emergency missions.

All of these must be performed under difficult conditions such as inclement weather, unknown terrain, or uncooperative air traffic control. Competitors will not have access to the mission courses or locations of obstacles until the day of the event. In addition, they should “expect the unexpected”—mission conditions and elements may not be exactly as advertised.

The FAA helped write the technical rules of the competition and will mentor teams to ensure their aircraft comply with federal rules. The agency will be “deeply involved” in the fly-off to maintain safety.

“We are closely working with the FAA in a number of their departments, and we have fully integrated our programming into today’s FAA certification process, and we will be helping our teams through that,” Lighter said.

During the contest, teams will have to dodge pylons and walls and contend with less-than-ideal takeoff and landing conditions. “The Flood” site, for example, is an 18-inch deep pool with simulated rain conditions—teams must touch or pop a balloon floating on its surface. Other locations will feature inclined slopes, sandy pits, or heavy winds.

A panel of expert judges will rank attempts by completion, speed, and payload, with bonus points awarded for one-person crew operations, quick deployment, and few operator inputs. To be eligible for the grand prize, a team needs to complete two missions, or complete one and partially complete another.

What Happens After?

Lighter emphasized that GoAERO hopes to produce not just emergency response flyers, but an ecosystem around them.

“We’re building this ecosystem so it’s not one company, it’s not one university, it’s not one entrepreneur, it’s not one regulator, it’s everybody coming together to use transformative technology to save lives,” she said.

At the end of the fly-off, the winning teams will have full control over what happens next. They will retain all intellectual property rights and do not necessarily need to commercialize their technology with a partner.

But while there are zero post-competition requirements, GoAERO aims to set teams up for success. Partners such as Boeing and RTX will be present for the fly-off, and winners will then have the option to meet with them and start a partnership.

“What we want to do is enable our teams to make the best choices for themselves at the end of the competition, whether that is licensing technology, whether that is building on their own, whether that is raising funds to commercialize, whether that is joining with a strategic partner—all are open and options for each of our teams,” Lighter said. “We certainly would never dictate to our teams how they should deploy. Rather, we will create the conditions where they have multiple options to be able to commercialize should they wish to do so.”

She added: “We all came together because we realized that there’s been a convergence of breakthrough technologies in aviation and in adjacent industries, and we now have this first moment in history that we have the ability to create new forms of emergency response aircraft.”

How to Get Involved

The deadline for GoAERO’s initial paper submission phase is December 11, which means there is plenty of time to apply.

To do so, applicants can visit goaeroprize.com to find the Stage 1 application forms, which include short biographies of each team member and legal documents covering liability and insurance, for example. Application is free, but there is a design submission fee of $250 for individuals and $500 for teams.

“Everything is on the website, from the technical rules to the schedules to the webinars to who the advisors are and who the partners are to how to engage with us,” said Lighter.

GoAERO excludes applicants under the age of 18, employees of Boeing or RTX and their families, and citizens or residents of countries subject to U.S. sanctions or export controls. But all others may apply, and the competition already includes teams from 40 countries. Entities that would prefer not to form a team but are interested in a partnership can also contact GoAERO.

Ten $10,000 winners will be selected from the Stage 1 pool, and eight Stage 2 teams will win $40,000 each. But teams can enter the competition at any time, including during the final fly-off. For that last phase, participants will need an aircraft with registration and airworthiness certification that has demonstrated, via video evidence, controlled flight with a full payload.

The stage is set. The rules are clear. All interested parties need to do is join the competition.

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Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University on Tuesday announced a partnership with the Advanced Air Mobility Association (AAMA), a nonprofit initiative working with the private sector, universities, government, and other stakeholders to create “road maps” for the introduction of AAM aircraft, tailored for major U.S. cities. Under the agreement, AAMA will leverage the expertise of Embry-Riddle faculty and provide students with opportunities for project collaboration, internships, and more.

AAMA was launched publicly in April and is led by president and CEO Antonio Campello, an Embraer executive of more than 30 years who most recently headed Embraer-X—the company’s innovation arm and technology incubator.

Johann Bordais, president and CEO of Embraer air taxi arm Eve Air Mobility, a spinoff of EmbraerX, sits on the group’s board, which also includes Bristow Group executive David Stepanek and Republic Airways executive Charles Hillis. Both Bristow and Republic are Eve partners.

In addition, AAMA adviser Frank Di Bello previously served as president and CEO of Space Florida, an Eve investor. Michael Amalfitano, who sits on Eve’s board, is on Embry-Riddle’s board of trustees.

However, Campello told FLYING that AAMA receives no funding from Embraer or Eve and is fully agnostic, working with all platforms and OEMs and favoring no company. He said the group has been inviting AAM operators, aircraft manufacturers, industry groups, universities, and city governments to help build the ecosystem needed to bolster a new wave of transportation.

Passenger- or cargo-carrying electric air taxis, for example, will require vertiports, special takeoff and landing sites fitted with chargers and other equipment. Designing, building, operating, and regulating these sites will be a collaborative effort.

AAMA intends to establish “readiness laboratories,” where stakeholders can create and implement a minimum viable product (MVP). Businesses use MVPs, which typically are designed with just enough features to be usable for early customers, to gauge the feasibility of an idea. Essentially, the group is looking to launch a beta version of an AAM ecosystem and receive feedback from customers on how it could be improved.

AAMA will use funding generated from membership fees, grants, events, and fees charged to use its readiness labs to create reports describing how different regions can integrate air taxis and other novel aircraft. Per a pitch deck viewed by FLYING, it will also advocate for key regulations on Capitol Hill.

According to Embry-Riddle, AAMA will work with university faculty that lead AAM programs, such as within the Eagle Flight Research Center. Kyle Collins, an assistant professor of aerospace engineering and the director of the center, said it has been exploring the topic for years.

Embry-Riddle students will also be able to work directly with AAMA members on projects and will have opportunities to intern with the association and its member organizations.

“We’re excited to see our team of experienced professionals collaborating with researchers, faculty, and students to propose innovative and customized solutions aimed at implementing a safe and efficient advanced air mobility ecosystem in cities and regions across the globe,” said Campello.

Separately, Embry-Riddle is collaborating with the Greater Orlando Aviation Authority (GOAA), which manages Orlando International Airport (KMCO), to explore the integration of AAM operations at that site. In addition, researchers are working under a $1.4 million NASA grant to study how air taxis can take off quietly and safely in dense urban environments and turbulent conditions.

It’s unclear how much access AAMA will be granted to those projects, but the organization will hope to glean insights from top aviation experts.

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Reliable Robotics, a developer of automated flight systems for remotely piloted operations, was awarded an indefinite delivery indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract to retrofit Air Force aircraft with its continuous autopilot system, which is designed to be installed on any model.

The partners will have flexibility under the agreement, which calls for the delivery of an unspecified quantity of services within a fixed window. The Air Force can place orders under the contract, authorizing specific work and the funding that comes with it. The contract will further allow Reliable and AFWERX—the innovation arm of the Air Force—to explore partnerships with other military branches, tailoring the system for additional missions.

According to retired Major General Dr. David O’Brien, senior vice president of government solutions at Reliable, the agreement “signals long-term engagement with the Air Force and provides flexibility for us to further demonstrate our autonomous flight system in operational readiness activities.”

The IDIQ arrangement, which will support the development and deployment of Reliable’s autopilot system, comes less than one week after AFWERX awarded the company $3.6 million under a Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI), tightening a relationship that began in 2021 and has since expanded with a series of small business innovation research (SBIR) contracts.

The TACFI will allow Reliable to perform uncrewed cargo missions for the military, building on a pair of Air Force demonstrations it completed earlier this year.

Reliable’s automation system covers all phases of flight from taxi to takeoff to landing, using hardware and software to automate control surfaces and engine controls. It’s designed to prevent controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) and loss of control in flight (LOC-I)—two of the leading causes of aviation accidents.

Detect and avoid and precision navigation systems help the aircraft understand where it is and where it’s going, while voice and data links enable remote communication. Remote supervisors or onboard safety pilots can communicate with air traffic control and redirect the aircraft to an alternate landing site in the case of inclement weather, for example. According to Reliable, the system is just as reliable as crewed flight.

Some within the Air Force believe autonomy systems like Reliable’s can safely support longer duration missions in “contested environments” more cheaply than its own technology while reducing aircrew needs. The partners are particularly focused on the Indo-Pacific region, where tensions between the U.S. and China are strained over relations with Taiwan.

Lieutenant Colonel Josh Fehd, branch chief of AFWERX’s Autonomy Prime division, called the technology a “mission critical capability.” Autonomy Prime was announced in January and greenlit by Andrew Hunter, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics, after officials “recognized a need,” according to AFWERX.

“This IDIQ contract is driven by demand from Air Mobility Command, Air Combat Command, Pacific Air Forces and commands that want to employ advanced aircraft automation in their fleets as soon as possible,” said Fehd.

Reliable’s primary testbed aircraft for its system is the Cessna 208B Grand Caravan, which in November completed what the company claims was the first remotely piloted cargo flight of that model. The FAA-approved trial lasted about 12 minutes and was remotely operated from a ground control station.

The Caravan was a loan from potential launch customer FedEx, and Reliable is collaborating with Cessna manufacturer Textron Aviation and Textron eAviation to retrofit additional aircraft. The remotely piloted Caravan could enable same- or next-day shipments to locations currently served by piloted models. The company plans to operate a Part 135 airline subsidiary led by former Ameriflight executives.

Reliable has also shared with the Air Force a blueprint to automate the KC-135 Stratotanker, the military’s core aerial refueling aircraft. But according to the company, under the IDIQ agreement, its aircraft-agnostic system could find its way onto other models such as the Cessna 408 SkyCourier. The system is designed to support cargo aircraft with 3,000-plus-pound payloads.

The FAA in February formally accepted the certification requirements for Reliable’s aircraft navigation and autopilot systems, including a means of compliance for testing and analysis. The company claims its full aircraft automation software is the only system of its kind with an FAA-approved project specific certification plan (PSCP), on which the agency signed off last year.

Another autonomous flight developer working with the Air Force, Xwing—which earlier this year was acquired by electric air taxi manufacturer Joby Aviation—submitted its PSCP in April 2023. Merlin Labs, meanwhile, has a basis for certification with New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority for its Merlin Pilot system.

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On Thursday, Boston-based Merlin Labs announced it began what it claims is the first test campaign of a certification-ready, takeoff-to-touchdown autonomous flight system. The company’s Merlin Pilot is designed to one day allow small aircraft to fly with no humans on board.

But first, it will need to obtain a supplemental type certificate (STC) from the FAA, awarded by the regulator when a company intends to modify an aircraft from its initial, type-certified design. The STC authorizes the modification and how it will affect the original product.

According to Merlin, the test campaign, which is using a Merlin Pilot-equipped Cessna Grand Caravan 208B, will culminate in an STC that can be extended across other FAA Part 23 aircraft types and classes. That includes the modified Lockheed C-130J Hercules and Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker the company is developing for the U.S. Department of Defense.

“This flight test campaign proves the system that we have been developing and testing in simulation and hardware labs on the ground over the past few years,” Matt George, CEO of Merlin, told FLYING. “This is a first for the industry and serves as the flight test platform for the final development and verification of the certified system for the regulatory authority.”

Just Like a Human

In Merlin’s words, Pilot “takes the skills of a human pilot and translates them into software.” The platform-agnostic hardware and software solution will make decisions like a human, the company says, allowing it to fly smoothly even when a mission suffers from turbulence. At first, the system will serve as an AI copilot for reduced-crew operations, with a safety pilot remaining onboard. Eventually, though, the company plans to remove the safety pilot on small aircraft.

Merlin Pilot uses an array of sensors and cameras to understand exactly where an aircraft is and where it’s going. Data is fed into the system after being processed by flight control computers, which send commands to actuators connected to the aircraft. The system’s AutoNav capability can generate alternative routes for a pilot to approve and will assist with emergency descents or precautionary landings.

Unlike competitors such as Joby Aviation’s Xwing and Reliable Robotics, whose systems communicate with air traffic control via a remote supervisor, Merlin digitizes everything. The system is “standalone,” according to George, using natural language processing algorithms to understand commands from a range of accents and voice types and “speak” to ATC. The safety pilot can step in if anything gets lost in translation.

According to Merlin, the system has spent over 800 hours in the air across more than 500 “systems-on” flights, powering five different aircraft types. In addition to the Cessna Caravan, C-130J, and KC-135, it has been integrated on the Beechcraft King Air, de Havilland Twin Otter, Long-EZ, and Cozy Mark IV.

But these certification-ready test flights are a different animal. George referred to the campaign as a “final draft,” explaining that Merlin Pilot is no longer in prototype form. It now includes updated design data, drawings and substantiation reports, custom racks and structures, and compliant wiring, for example.

Meanwhile, the company’s Cessna Caravan—which it affectionately calls “Big Red”—has been converted with a glass cockpit, advanced avionics, new sensors, autopilot, and automated communications system.

“We stripped everything out of this Cessna Caravan and replaced the instrument panel and legacy systems with state-of-the-art modern avionics, the latest display systems, and custom hardware and software for the Merlin Pilot,” said Sherif Ali, chief engineer for Merlin. “This includes an air data computer, inertial navigation system, heading system, radar altimeter, all of which were integrated at an incredibly high level of quality in order to meet certification standards.”

The modified Cessna underwent integration check flights in June followed by functional check flights. Now, Merlin says it is conducting open, inner, and closed looping test flights in California’s Mojave Desert, phasing out human involvement a little bit at a time.

“The first step is system integration and activation of our automatic flight control system,” George told FLYING. “We then will integrate flight guidance, ATC communications, auto throttle, approaches for landing, full landing, and full takeoff. We test each phase to ensure full integration, which will meet the regulatory requirements.”

George said the campaign will culminate in the third quarter with FAA validation. Merlin is certifying the software concurrently with New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), which in February awarded the firm the first Part 135 certification basis for an autonomous flight system.

Mission-Critical

The U.S. military, though, is getting the first crack at Merlin Pilot. The Air Force enlisted Merlin in 2022 to test single-pilot C-130J crews and is looking at automating other aircraft such as the Boeing KC-46 Pegasus and Sikorsky UH-60A Blackhawk.

In July, Merlin completed autonomous KC-135 flights at Pittsburgh Air National Guard Base under a contract awarded in February. Further data collection flights were conducted with Air Force pilots in the Stratotanker at MacDill Air Force Base in May.

In June, the company earned a $105 million contract from the U.S. Special Operations Command to build production-ready, reduced-crew capabilities for the C-130J. The contract further provides for the technology to be introduced within the broader special operations forces (SOF) fixed-wing fleet.

“The same foundational system is being used for both our civil and military programs, and the [U.S. Air Force] is an important stakeholder in our civil process,” said George.

The FAA too is interested in what Merlin Pilot can do. In 2023, Merlin completed automated cargo network trials in Alaska backed by agency approval and a $1 million contract.

According to George, the firm “is the most funded company working in this space,” with investments from Google Ventures, Baillie Gifford, Snowpoint Ventures, and First Round Capital. Its 2022 series B funding round raised $105 million. Combined with revenue from defense contracts, the company in George’s view has plenty of cash on hand to fund its certification activities.

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The space agency on Monday introduced the Airborne Instrumentation for Real-world Video of Urban Environments, or AIRVUE—a specially designed pod that attaches to the bottom of a helicopter and can train AAM aircraft to “see” obstacles in their path. The technology is designed to hone computer vision systems for autonomous flight.

Agency researchers in April conducted initial AIRVUE testing at Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, attaching it to a piloted NASA helicopter to survey the environment.

“The computer algorithms that will enable the aircraft to sense the environment must be reliable and proven to work in many flight circumstances,” NASA said. “NASA data promises that fidelity, making this an important resource for industry.”

Developed and built at NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center in Edwards, California, the pod is equipped with cameras and sensors to collect visual information on weather and other hazards, compiling them into a massive dataset that will be shared with AAM manufacturers.

In the space agency’s view, data collected independently by manufacturers is seldom shared with competitors. That creates fragmentation in an industry the U.S. hopes to one day lead.

“Data is the fuel for machine learning,” said Nelson Brown, lead NASA researcher for the AIRVUE project. “We hope to inspire innovation by providing the computer vision community with realistic flight scenarios. Accessible datasets have been essential to advances in driver aids and self-driving cars, but so far, we haven’t seen open datasets like this in aviation.”

The space agency said it plans to develop more pods that integrate with other aircraft once it refines and evaluates the Airvue design.

This is not NASA’s first foray into self-flying systems. In 2022, for instance, it contracted autonomous flight developer Xwing, which in June was acquired by electric air taxi firm Joby Aviation, to design a safety management system for uncrewed flight.

Joby is just one of the manufacturers collaborating with NASA under its AAM mission, which seeks to give commercial firms the data they need to safely integrate air taxis, drones, and other vehicles within the national airspace.

Also working with the agency are Boeing self-flying air taxi subsidiary Wisk Aero and Archer Aviation, which last year agreed to make Wisk the sole provider of autonomy systems for its flagship Midnight air taxi. Joby and Archer’s aircraft will fly with a pilot at launch, but both anticipate a move to uncrewed flight in the future.

NASA’s research with these companies has spanned everything from turbulence and noise to battery safety and simulated operations around busy U.S. airports. The space agency has also operated self-flying drones to further study automated AAM operations.

Drones operations are on the agenda too. This month, for example, NASA gathered representatives from the drone industry, police and fire departments, and FAA to help the regulator develop a rule for operations beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) of the pilot.

In lieu of a final BVLOS regulation, the FAA awards these permissions via waiver. Lifting BVLOS restrictions is expected to greatly expand the service area for drone delivery by allowing operators to essentially manage their own airspace—with FAA supervision, of course.

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Earlier this month, Joby Aviation and Reliable Robotics operated self-flying Cessna 208B Grand Caravans during the U.S. Air Force’s Agile Flag 24-3 exercise at Mojave Air and Space Port (KMHV) in California. The goal of the five-day campaign was to weigh how the technology could support the Air Force’s Agile Combat Employment concept, which it describes as a “proactive and reactive operational scheme…to increase resiliency and survivability while generating combat power.”

Airmen from the 23rd Wing at Moody Air Force Base (KVAD) in Georgia and 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale Air Force Base (KBAB) in California used technology from Reliable and Joby—which in June acquired autonomous flight provider Xwing—to fly the souped-up Caravan across California and Nevada.

“Previously, we faced a tough choice: either use a cargo aircraft with all the associated expenses or forgo the flight altogether, which created difficult decisions for warfighting commanders,” said Colonel Max Bremer, management officer of the Air Force’s Air Mobility Command Special Access Program. “The return on investment with this technology is significant.”

The Air Force has awarded Reliable, Joby, and Xwing Phase II and III small business innovation research (SBIR) contracts through Autonomy Prime, a technology program within AFWERX, the Air Force’s innovation arm. AFWERX offers a sort of quid pro quo: Manufacturers get a controlled environment where they can perform flight trials and development work, in exchange for early military access to the technology.

Autonomy Prime earlier this year invited both Reliable and Joby to participate in February’s Agile Flag 24-1 exercise.

“We wanted to build on that success by bringing both vendors back for Agile Flag 24-3, which imposes more realistic constraints on the training participants,” said Ian Clowes of AFWERX Prime stakeholder engagement.

Autonomous flight software, in particular, is in high demand.

A Caravan equipped with Reliable or Joby’s technology can taxi, take off, fly up to 1,150 miles, and land with 1,200 pounds of cargo. According to the Air Force, that translates to an operating cost between $1,200 and $1,600 per hour, compared to more than $7,000 for a C-130J Hercules and $20,000 for a C-17A Globemaster.

The autonomous aircraft would be best suited for carrying small cargo, freeing up larger cargo aircraft to transport large parts or weapons.

“Looking ahead, if the Air Force adopts autonomous aircraft for asset transport in forward locations, it will increase sorties and flying hours by reducing delays in aircraft maintenance,” said Staff Sergeant Miguel Sarmiento, aircraft parts store supervisor for the 633rd Logistics Readiness Squadron.

During Agile Flag 24-3, airmen were tasked with deploying fighters to meet a mission objective while contending with “adversary activities” that complicated their goal. For the purposes of the exercise, cargo aircraft had limited ability to deliver the parts needed to keep the fighters flying.

That was no problem for Joby and Reliable, whose technology powered an autonomous Cessna across 47 flights covering more than 6,600 miles while operators watched them from a mobile ground control station. Personnel carried a laptop and satellite communication terminal in a small backpack—no additional infrastructure was needed. Reliable said its flights also included an onboard safety pilot.

“In this exercise scenario, where distance is a significant challenge, this capability is helping us overcome it,” said Colonel Charles Hanson, commander of the 9th Mission Support Group.

Added Captain Mackenzie Thompson, flight commander of the 480th Sortie Generation: “My job is to ensure we have safe and reliable aircraft for the mission. AFWERX has been awesome in helping us transport parts quickly, which has saved us a lot of time and manpower.”

Joby, for example, delivered cargo from Edwards Air Force Base (KEDW) to Southern California Logistics Airport (KVCV) in Victorville, California. The company said it flew more than 3,900 miles between nine military bases and public airports, performing a taxi, takeoff, and landing at each site.

“We look forward to continuing to work with the U.S. Air Force as we further develop the suite of technologies that could enable greater automation or full autonomy, first on the Caravan and then on numerous other aircraft types,” said Maxime Gariel, autonomy lead at Joby.

The company added that it plans to use autonomy to speed up the completion of its AFWERX contract and, potentially, open up new contract opportunities.

According to Reliable, Agile Flag 24-1 was supposed to represent the Indo-Pacific region, with some locations separated by hundreds of miles. The company said it transported critical cargo to eight locations on demand, with leadership from NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center also in attendance.

“Autonomy in small platforms reduces risk and opens up the ability to land in more places including damaged runways or unimproved surfaces,” said Bremer.

Prior to the exercise, Reliable obtained military airworthiness and flight readiness approvals for expanded operations. The company’s aircraft-agnostic system is the only full aircraft automation software with an FAA-approved certification plan.

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California-based A2Z Drone Delivery on Monday launched a suite of autonomous drone docks—portable or permanent sites where drones can charge and pick up or drop off packages, with no human interaction. Accompanying the firm’s new AirDock offering, which comes in four configurations, is a companion drone specially designed to integrate with the system.

Interestingly, though, customers may choose to directly purchase or lease the technology from A2Z, or they can opt for a drone-network-as-a-service (DNaaS)—essentially, a subscription model tied to a temporary contract.

“While the AirDocks are designed to safely and more easily scale drone operations in a sharable fashion, we also saw an opportunity to lower that financial barrier to entry even further for customers,” Aaron Zhang, cofounder and CEO of A2Z, told FLYING. “Our new drone-network-as-a-service (DNaaS) model is a pathway for customers to get off the ground quickly, without having to make the full upfront capital investment in a network of drone docks and UAVs.”

With the AirDock, drones can fly from dock to dock to autonomously pick up, deliver, or recharge in as little as 30 minutes. The weatherproof modules, designed for both cargo and patrol flights, are elevated to keep sharp propellers away from people.

Customers can deploy a single system or arrange multiple docks in a network, using automated charging to greatly extend the range of their operations. According to A2Z, the technology has no moving parts, allowing it to be deployed at a “fraction of the cost” of more complex systems.

“We’ve seen plenty of drone-in-a-box users struggle with burdensome maintenance on overly complex hardware, so we designed our AirDocks to be ‘solid-state’ with no moving parts to worry about,” said Zhang.

The company will sell AirDocks to drone service providers, enterprise-level operators, and government agencies, who can manage deliveries remotely through a client web-based user interface. Customers can track delivery status, request a pickup, view patrol reports, schedule patrol missions, and view live video feeds.

The AirDock will come in four configurations, each designed to meet a different operational need.

The Portable module can be carried by hand or fold to fit within the trunk of a van or checked airline luggage. The “most cost-effective offering” in the AirDock suite, it can be deployed in minutes and manage multiple drones.

The more rugged Shelter module is designed to house a single drone for extended periods of time, such as overnight or between missions, and can withstand extreme weather conditions. A2Z describes it as a “deploy and forget” option for remote operations where the drone cannot be recovered at the end of the day.

For customers operating many drones or sharing airspace with other providers, the company offers the AirDock Dual and Quad, which can dock and charge two and four drones respectively. These permanent structures are elevated about 20 feet off the ground and use the same foundation and power supply as standard streetlamps. With the Dual or Quad module, multiple customers could share infrastructure in the same high-traffic area.

“A countywide network of AirDocks can simultaneously support first responder drones providing rapid eyes on traffic accidents, while also patrolling protected reservoir waters, and collecting water data samples,” Zhang told FLYING. “At the same time, local drone service providers may leverage the same AirDock network for food delivery.”

The companion drone for the system, the AirDock Edition Longtail, is a version of the company’s commercial drone platform, unveiled last August, that has been modified to integrate with the automatic charging system. The model features a hexacopter airframe that supports an 11-pound payload, cruising at about 650 feet. It can fly in moderate rain or even snow.

The AirDock Edition Longtail can hop between docks to recharge itself and extend missions indefinitely. Its onboard computer includes A2Z’s new autonomous precision landing capability, while a heating system and cell balancing system help to maintain its batteries.

Using ground control station software, operators can preplan drone routes between docks, repeating missions with the touch of a button. Pilots can take over manually at any time.

The drone features a customizable cargo bay that can be fitted for a range of missions including last mile delivery, data collection, infrastructure inspection, and search and rescue. Two models are available at launch. The Longtail Cargo has a range of about 11 nm and comes integrated with A2Z’s winch system, which lowers packages from altitude on a tether. The Longtail Patrol, meanwhile, has a range of 19 nm and includes a thermal camera, LED spotlight, and megaphone.

A2Z got its start manufacturing commercial drone delivery hardware. But with the launch of the AirDock system, the company hopes to offer a drone-network-as-a-service (DNaaS) comprising not just the aircraft but the ecosystem around them.

Enterprise or government agency customers can choose to purchase or lease the technology directly from A2Z or a leasing partner, or they can opt for the DNaaS model, under which A2Z owns and maintains the docks and drones.

Under the latter option, the customer pays a monthly service fee and is responsible for operations. Following a vetting and onboarding process, A2Z will ship the drones and docks, which can be customized with customer branding, and assist with setup. After that, the company would remain on standby to provide operational, technical, and regulatory support.

Contract terms begin at six months but can be extended, with an early termination fee of half of the remaining contract length.

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The manufacturer on Tuesday announced the acquisition of Verocel, a software verification and validation (V&V) company focused on the certification of aerospace software—with a particular focus on autonomous designs. Unlike competitors such as Archer Aviation or Joby Aviation, which plan to fly autonomous in the future, Wisk intends for its Gen 6 to fly itself at launch.

Verocel’s flagship offering, VeroTrace, assists manufacturers with software certification definitions, tracking, and submissions to the FAA. Wisk intends to use it to support Gen 6 certification, but it said the software may also be used in “future software development projects for Boeing.” In addition, more than 50 Verocel engineers based in Massachusetts and Poland will join Wisk.

“High-integrity software development is critical for our mission to certify an autonomous, electric aircraft, with V&V being a significant portion of the total software certification effort,” said Brian Yutko, CEO of Wisk. “Verocel’s specialized and talented team will bring with them deep experience and rigor, helping to accelerate our autonomous certification project that is already well underway.”

According to Verocel, team members have extensive knowledge of Software Considerations in Airborne Systems and Equipment Certification, or DO-178C—a document used by regulators including the FAA, European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), and Transport Canada to approve commercial aerospace software.

The company is part of several aerospace industry standards committees including a special committee within the Radio Technical Commission for Aeronautics (RTCA), the EUROCAE Working Group, and the FAA’s Overarching Properties Working Group. Over the course of 25 years and more than 160 projects, it has performed work for Boeing and GE Aerospace, among others.

“Not only is this a chance to directly apply our expertise to the certification of a groundbreaking technology, but this is also an incredible opportunity for Verocel talent to excel within Wisk and the broader Boeing ecosystem long term,” said Jim Chelini, president of Verocel.

Beyond V&V, Verocel also develops the safety computers used in the FAA’s Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS), which is intended to improve the accuracy and availability of global positioning systems (GPS). WAAS allows an aircraft to rely on GPS for all phases of flight, including vertical landings.

Wisk is staring down a more rigorous certification process than its competitors, and the acquisition of Verocel is intended to get the ball rolling faster. The manufacturer aims to introduce the Gen 6 before the end of the decade in markets such as Los Angeles and the Greater Houston Area, where it is developing a vertiport hub at Sugar Land Regional Airport (KSGR).

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Joby on Tuesday announced it acquired the autonomy division of Xwing, the developer of autonomous gate-to-gate flight software Superpilot, as it looks ahead to a transition to self-flying air taxi services. The manufacturer plans to initially operate the aircraft with onboard pilots and has a partnership with Delta Air Lines to launch commercial service as early as next year, beginning in New York and Los Angeles.

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. But the acquisition was paid for with Joby shares and covers “all of Xwing’s existing automation and autonomy technology activities,” the company said.

“The aircraft we are certifying will have a fully qualified pilot on board,” said JoeBen Bevirt, founder and CEO of Joby, “but we recognize that a future generation of autonomous aircraft will play an important part in unlocking our vision of making clean and affordable aerial mobility as accessible as possible.”

Like competitors Wisk Aero, the eVTOL subsidiary of Boeing, and Archer Aviation—which in August agreed to make Wisk the exclusive provider of autonomous systems for a future variant of its flagship air taxi—Joby evidently believes autonomy will be key to scaling up its operations.

The manufacturer began exploring pilotless flight in 2021 with the acquisition of radar developer Inras, whose technology it said it would use to develop an onboard sensing and navigation system.

One problem the eVTOL industry faces is a lack of powered-lift pilots, for which the FAA is working to develop a training and certification pathway. In the short term, autonomy could take on more flight functions, akin to autopilot technology on commercial airliners, to allow operations with smaller crews. Further out, it could allow Joby to remove the pilot from its aircraft entirely.

Wisk argues that the technology will further make operations safer and more affordable for passengers. That’s important, because eVTOL manufacturers, including Joby and Archer, claim their air taxi services will be cost-competitive with ground-based rideshare options such as Uber and Lyft.

Additionally, Joby said Xwing’s Superpilot will help it fulfill obligations for the U.S. Department of Defense, through which it is under contract with AFWERX, the innovation arm of the U.S. Air Force. The manufacturer has so far committed to four deliveries out of a total of nine air taxi orders—two each to Edwards Air Force Base in California and MacDill Air Force Base in Florida—delivering one to Edwards.

Joby in March estimated that the agreement has a total contract value of $163 million but on Tuesday said Xwing’s technology gives it room for growth.

“Autonomous systems are increasingly prolific in the private sector and bring potentially game-changing advantages to the Air Force as well,” said Colonel Elliott Leigh, director of AFWERX and chief commercialization officer for the Air Force. “We created Autonomy Prime to keep up with this shift and to stay engaged as a partner while this technology evolves so that we can adapt and evolve along with the private sector, maintaining our competitive advantage.”

Rather than develop autonomous software in-house, as it does for most of its aircraft’s components and systems, Joby will instead adopt the technology Xwing has been building since its founding in 2016.

A platform-agnostic system, Superpilot uses AI and machine learning algorithms to automate a range of tasks such as vision system processing, detect and avoid, decision making, and mission management, including route planning and live updates.

The system integrates into type-certified aircraft and is designed to change the role and location of the pilot, enabling remote supervision from a ground control station within the existing air traffic control system. However, Xwing on its website says the technology “is applicable to and will improve safety in both piloted and autonomous aircraft.”

Xwing began flying Superpilot-equipped aircraft in 2020 and has since completed more than 250 autonomous flights and 500 autolandings using a modified Cessna 208B Grand Caravan. Since 2021, it has operated a Part 135 air carrier business, flying 400 feeder cargo flights per week for UPS. Through a nonexclusive agreement with Cessna manufacturer Textron Aviation, the company intends to retrofit more small cargo aircraft, beginning with the Grand Caravan.

Last year, Superpilot became the first standard category large uncrewed aerial system (UAS) to receive an official FAA project designation, initiating the process for it to be approved for commercial cargo operations in U.S. national airspace. Under a three-year contract with NASA, Xwing is allowing researchers to study the technology and develop a safety management system (SMS) to integrate routine, pilotless flights alongside conventional aircraft.

In May 2023, the Air Force committed to exploring Superpilot for defense applications through a 21-month flight trial awarded by AFWERX. It must like what it’s seen so far, because less than a year into the partnership, it granted military airworthiness to Xwing’s modified Cessna, allowing it to begin performing cargo missions in unrestricted airspace. In February, the aircraft completed the Air Force’s first autonomous logistics mission.

Joby on Tuesday said Xwing engineers, researchers and technologists will join the manufacturer to seek out new technology development partnerships with the DOD. The department is eyeing autonomous cargo aircraft as a way to take human pilots out of potentially dangerous scenarios.

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Over the course of two flights on May 15 and 16 at MacDill Air Force Base (KMCF) in Florida, engineers gathered data that will inform the development of the company’s autonomous flight system, Merlin Pilot. Intended to reduce the workload of pilots amid the ongoing pilot shortage—but not replace them, at least in the short term—the technology has also drawn the attention of government agencies, including the Air Force.

Merlin engineers observed Air Force pilots as they performed various tasks and maneuvers. The goal of the campaign was to identify areas where automation could be most useful for safety, efficiency, and cost savings. Teams gathered data on pilot priorities, for example, to implement automation in a way that could allow pilots to focus on the most critical tasks.

“The data collected during these flights is critical to our phased approach to autonomy, starting with reduced crew operations, and to materially evolving our advanced automation systems,” said Matt George, CEO of Merlin. “Being able to observe multiple aerial refueling flights and see exactly how pilots are focused on critical tasks like take-off, landing, and communications in operational military use cases has given us valuable insight.”

Physical assessments, observations, and crew interviews were conducted to determine how certain KC-135 operations could be integrated into the autonomous system.

The data will further be used to support a contract between Merlin, the Air Force, Air Mobility Command (AMC), and Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) to design, integrate, test, and perform in-flight demos of Merlin Pilot on the aerial refueling tanker. The Air Force previously enlisted Merlin to explore reduced crew capabilities for the Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules and is looking to automate other aircraft, such as the KC-46A Pegasus and UH-60A Blackhawk.

The FAA has also shown interest in Merlin, awarding it a $1 million contract for automated cargo network flight trials in Alaska, which the company completed successfully in July. Other aircraft that have been equipped with Merlin Pilot include the Beechcraft King Air, de Havilland Twin Otter, Cessna Caravan, Long-EZ, and Cozy Mark IV.

Merlin is seeking supplemental type certification from the FAA and has already obtained a Part 135 air operator certificate from New Zealand’s Civil Aviation Authority, which covers air operations for helicopters and small airplanes.

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