Collab With Near Earth To Serve More Defense And Commercial Applications

BETA Technologies, developer of electric VTOL and CTOL aircraft, and Near Earth Autonomy are collaborating to speed up the development of integrating autonomy on BETA aircraft to enable it to fly faster, further, and carry more payload in support of a growing range of defense and commercial applications.

BETA produces simple and reliable electric and hybrid VTOL aircraft that are designed with fly-by-wire controls that provide a platform enabling both crewed and uncrewed operations. The company has conducted more than 1,000 hours of uncrewed flights on subscale aircraft that have demonstrated a range of 158 nm on a single charge.

From its experience in supplying autonomous systems for the U.S. military and industry OEMs, Near Earth’s technology brings expertise in perception, guidance, path planning, and certifiable autonomous systems for a diverse range of mission sets.

BETA and Near Earth have so far successfully completed the initial integration of the perception and guidance suite into the flight control system. BETA anticipates flight testing will begin in the first half of 2026.

Shawn Hall, Chief Revenue Officer for BETA said, “Increasing our autonomy capabilities will deliver even greater optionality to operators, including faster speed, higher payload, longer range, and optional piloting.”

He added, “Recent announcements from the Department of Transportation and Department of War both point towards the accelerated fielding of autonomous aircraft. We are excited to be at the center of this effort with both civil and military customers.”

Sanjiv Singh, CEO of Near Earth Autonomy said, “Partnering with BETA Technologies is a natural extension of our experience and expertise in bringing autonomy to a variety of missions and aircraft. Working with a pioneer in electric aviation allows us to combine high-assurance autonomy with cutting-edge electric propulsion to help unlock sustainable, scalable autonomous air mobility.”

BETA’s progress on development of autonomous capabilities enables the company to expand its offerings to military customers as well as commercial cargo logistics operators such as UPS, Bristow, e-Smart Logistics, among others.

FMI:  beta.team/