A Californian company has made aviation history by successfully flying a small cargo plane with no pilot on board. Reliable Robotics, based in Mountain View, managed to achieve this feat, making it the first time such a flight has taken place in the industry.
The pilot-less Cessna 208B Caravan took to the skies just outside San Jose on November 21, with a remote pilot supervising the aircraft from 50 miles away at Reliable’s control center. The company stated that this achievement is part of their efforts to bring advanced safety-enhancing technologies to the market in the United States.
“This monumental aviation achievement is a great example of how AFWERX accelerates agile and affordable capability transitions for the world’s greatest Air Force,” said Col. Elliott Leigh, AFWERX Director and Chief Commercialization Officer for the Department of the Air Force. “This milestone accelerates dual-use un-crewed flight opportunities, increasing aviation safety and enabling us to bring a broad range of autonomous military capabilities into denied environments.”
Reliable Robotics has been collaborating with the Air Force under a series of contracts since 2021, and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) formally accepted the certification plan for Reliable’s autonomous flight system in June 2023, the company announced in a release.
This breakthrough in aviation technology comes at a time when concerns about aviation safety are on the rise. Recent reports have indicated a surge in “close calls” with planes at airports, prompting a warning from US aviation experts about declining safety conditions at airports.
The successful pilot-less flight of the Cessna 208B Caravan marks a significant step forward in the development of autonomous flight capabilities and could potentially revolutionize the aviation industry in the future.