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

L3Harris Technologies Inc. is working with air taxi maker Joby Aviation to develop a new class of aircraft for defensive applications, with flight testing planned for as soon as later this year.