Joby Aviation builds out defense business with $500M acquisition

Joby Aviation reached an agreement to acquire Resonant Sciences for $500 million in cash and stock, according to a regulatory filing posted Tuesday. This is the electric air taxi developer’s latest move to push deeper into the defense sector.

Ohio-based Resonant Sciences, which makes radio frequency and sensor systems, will become a dedicated defense business under Joby. Resonant Sciences’ co-founder and CEO J. Micah North will lead this new division, which will absorb Joby’s defense projects, including the development of a turbine-electric and hydrogen-electric aircraft, and autonomy technology stack.

The new defense division will allow the rest of Joby Aviation to focus on certifying, manufacturing, and launching its electric air taxi, the company said.

California-based Joby is best known as a company trying to develop and launch a network of electric urban air taxis that can shuttle people and goods over short distances. The company has also pursued defense, an...

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