Joby Aviation has announced plans to participate in the White House’s eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (eIPP) as a way to accelerate its entry into U.S. operations. The program, established under a recent Executive Order, allows mature eVTOL aircraft designs to demonstrate real-world use cases—such as passenger transport, cargo delivery, and emergency response—prior to full FAA certification.

Joby says it is well positioned for this opportunity: the company has logged over 40,000 miles of flight testing and conducted nearly 600 flights so far in 2025. It recently completed a public airport-to-airport flight that integrated with commercial air traffic, and has demonstrated resilience across climatic extremes—including full VTOL transitions in Dubai’s intense heat.

On the regulatory front, Joby is in the fourth of five FAA Type Certification stages. The firm expects to fly its first conforming aircraft this year and begin test flights with FAA pilots aboard in early 2026. Meanwhile, it is scaling production in the U.S., expanding its manufacturing footprint in California and Ohio, with plans to double annual output to 24 aircraft.

Through eIPP, Joby aims to work with municipalities to deploy early operations ahead of full certification. Applications for participating communities will be evaluated over the next 180 days. Joby says it is already coordinating with state and local governments in Texas, Florida, Ohio, New York, and California.