Defense Flights Tally 7,000+ Miles, 4,925 Mile Roundtrip Ferry Flight

Joby Aviation announced the completion of a first-of-its-kind demonstration of its autonomous flight technology in logging more than 7,000 miles of autonomous operations in over 40 flight hours, including the successful completion of a 4,925 mile ferry flight across the Pacific Ocean and Hawaii.

The demonstration flights were part of the Resolute Force Pacific (REFORPAC) exercise led by the U.S. Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) from July 10 to August 8, 2025.

The demonstration was conducted using Joby’s Superpilot autonomous flight system integrated into a Cessna 208. The aircraft successfully completed six sorties covering 2,416 miles in the region during more than 14 flight hours.

The autonomous flights were managed from ground control stations at various locations during the exercise, primarily from a station at Anderson Air Force Base in Guam, 3,000 miles distant. A safety pilot was on board the aircraft to monitor the system’s performance.

Greg Bowles, Chief Policy Officer at Joby said, “The exercise demonstrated Superpilot’s ability to operate in complex, real-world scenarios with the precision and reliability demanded by the US government. This is a testament to our decade-long collaboration with the Department of Defense and a significant step toward deploying our dual-use technologies in the field.”

Lt. Col. Jonathan Gilbert, AFWERX Prime division chief said, “AFWERX has partnered with Joby’s team for several years with increasingly complex development and demonstration efforts of autonomy to support contested logistics missions.

“REFORPAC was an opportunity to demonstrate the technology in a realistic environment and highlight the potential impact of these autonomous systems. The lessons learned from this exercise participation are vital to guiding our focus as we continue development of affordable technologies that support the needs of our Airmen.”

FMI:  www.jobyaviation.com/