DEPLOYDatabase

Deployment

Joby S4 at Edwards AFB

Six-tilt-rotor electric aircraft; 5-seat (1 pilot + 4 passengers), 200mph top speed, ~150-mile range; FAA certification in progress.

Joby S4 by Joby Aviation · Operated by Joby Aviation · Catalog entry · 2 sources · not yet field-verified · Drones

Track Joby S4 at Edwards AFB

Recent coverage

See all coverage →

Machine-readable surfaces

In May 2023, Joby Aviation delivered its first conforming eVTOL aircraft to the United States Air Force under the AFWERX Agility Prime program, at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Agility Prime is the Air Force program to accelerate commercial air mobility vehicles for military utility.

Joby was selected in 2020 as one of the first Agility Prime partners. The delivered aircraft is a full-scale, conforming production representative Joby S4; the Air Force evaluates it for potential uses including troop transport, medical evacuation, and logistics at forward operating bases. This was the first eVTOL aircraft to be formally delivered to any branch of the US military. Joby's S4 received an FAA special airworthiness certificate in 2022; commercial passenger service certification was pending as of 2025.

Key facts

Programme
AFWERX Agility Prime (Air Force eVTOL evaluation partnership)
Delivery date
16 May 2023 (Joby press release date; delivery at Edwards AFB)
Aircraft type
Joby S4 (first conforming aircraft delivered to any US military branch)
Evaluated uses
Troop transport, MEDEVAC, forward-base logistics
Programme status
Active evaluation; commercial certification separate track

Safety record

No incidents on record for Joby S4 at Edwards AFB.

Only active incidents are counted. Retracted incidents are excluded from this summary but remain reachable at their canonical URLs.

Trust tier
Catalog entry · 2 sources · not yet field-verifiedhow tiers work →
Last updated
2026-07-10
Model
Joby S4
Company
Joby Aviation
Location
United States/California/Edwards AFB
Operator
Joby Aviation
Status
pilot
Operator type
customer deployed
First seen
2023-05-16
ID
4f58c8b1-9ccc-4651-9622-77bf75a64804

Timeline

  1. May 2023
    First recorded
    Joby S4 first documented operating at Edwards AFB.
  2. Jul 2026
    Current status: pilot, reviewed
    Latest recorded state. New status transitions append here as the deployment-status recorder produces them.

On the deployment map

Joby S4 operates in Edwards AFB. Explore the full verified map:

Sources (2)

  1. https://www.jobyaviation.com/news/joby-delivers-aircraft-to-the-us-air-force/ · 2023-05-16
  2. https://techcrunch.com/2023/05/16/joby-aviation-delivers-an-air-taxi-prototype-to-the-air-force-for-testing/ · 2023-05-16
Methodology: Verified · 2 sources (1 primary) · last reviewed 2026-07-10

Verification posture

Verified

High confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-07-10

Maturity + lifecycle

Maturity stage: pilot

Lifecycle: active

Architectural position

Cohort: aerial

Sources by quality tier

1
primary-company-ir
Company IR disclosure
1
secondary-industry-publication
Industry publication

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for Joby S4 at Edwards AFB.

Common questions

What is the Joby S4 deployment at Edwards AFB?
Joby S4, built by Joby Aviation, is recorded as a deployment at Edwards AFB on the DEPLOY registry. Joby Aviation operates the deployment directly.
Who operates Joby S4 at Edwards AFB?
Joby Aviation, the manufacturer of Joby S4, operates this deployment directly. This is a maker-deploys-its-own-product arrangement rather than a customer pilot.
When did the Joby S4 deployment at Edwards AFB go live?
The deployment is recorded as starting May 16, 2023 on the DEPLOY registry. Earlier activity may exist but is not yet sourced.
Have there been incidents at the Joby S4 deployment at Edwards AFB?
No active incidents affecting this deployment are recorded on the DEPLOY registry. Absence of recorded incidents is not a guarantee no incident occurred; DEPLOY records only sourced incidents and suppresses retracted ones.

Deploy Watch

Track this deployment.

We notify you when status changes against primary-source evidence, contract events surface, or a related incident is filed.