Joby's years of R&D with the DoD may be paying off. The company has signed an agreement with defense contractor L3Harris to develop a gas-turbine hybrid VTOL that can fly autonomously — for defense applications.

The companies plan to start flight tests this fall and be ready to demonstrate operational capabilities in government exercises by 2026.

The partnership brings together Joby's hybrid vertical take-off and landing, or VTOL, aircraft and L3's expertise in military systems.