Air taxi maker Joby, L3Harris to build hybrid military aircraft

Joby Aviation and L3Harris Technologies are exploring a collaboration to develop a gas turbine-hybrid VTOL aircraft for defense applications.

The aircraft is designed for low-altitude missions and can operate with a crew or autonomously.

Flight tests are scheduled for fall 2025, with operational demonstrations planned for 2026 during government exercises.

The partnership combines Joby’s work on hybrid powertrains and autonomous flight with L3Harris’ expertise in platform missionization, including sensors, effectors, communication, and collaborative autonomy.

Joby recently completed a 561-mile hydrogen-electric hybrid flight under a government contract and acquired Xwing’s autonomy division in June 2024.

Both companies have previously worked with the US Department of Defense, though no contracts have been disclosed for this project.

🔗 Source: Joby Aviation

🧠 Food for thought

1️⃣ Defense contractors increasingly pursue dual-use approaches to accelerate military innovation

The Joby-L3Harris partnership represents a growing trend where defense companies leverage commercial aviation advances rather than developing purely military solutions from scratch.

This collaboration combines Joby’s commercial aircraft manufacturing capabilities with L3Harris’s 30-year legacy in secure military communications systems1, creating a hybrid approach that could accelerate deployment timelines.

The strategy aligns with broader defense spending priorities, as the Department of Defense’s $849.8 billion budget request for fiscal 2025 specifically emphasizes advanced air mobility and unmanned systems2.

This dual-use model allows companies to spread development costs across both commercial and military markets while potentially reducing the lengthy development cycles traditionally associated with defense-only programs.

The approach reflects lessons learned from the commercial eVTOL sector, which is projected to grow from $13.5 billion in 2024 to $41.3 billion by 20333, demonstrating that commercial innovation can drive military capabilities forward.

2️⃣ Military VTOL development shows competitive urgency amid geopolitical tensions

The aggressive timeline for Joby and L3Harris’s collaboration—with flight testing starting this fall and operational demonstrations planned for 2026—reflects the military’s push to rapidly field new VTOL capabilities.