Autonomous flight provider wins approval for U.S. Air Force cargo missions in California
NewsFebruary 12, 2024
SAN FRANCISCO. Modular autonomy provider Xwing won approval from the U.S. Air Force to fly autonomous Air Force cargo missions across California.
Xwing participated in the recent AGILE FLAG 24-1 exercise under the auspices of the Air Combat Command (ACC) and Air Mobility Command (AMC), held at military bases and public airports throughout California. According to the company's announcemet, Xwing transported mission-critical cargo with daily autonomous missions throughout the week-long exercise, accumulating over 2,800 autonomous flight miles to military bases and civilian airports, including March Air Reserve Base, Vandenberg Space Force Base, Sacramento McClellan Airport, Meadows Field Airport, and Fresno Yosemite International Airport.
Maxime Gariel, President, CTO, and co-founder of Xwing, noted that the exercise demonstrated that autonomously flown missions enable the speed and efficiency required for dispersed ACE [agile combat employment] operations and allow operators to deliver cargo and personnel at a much lower cost and risk.
Following rigorous safety and technical assessments of the Xwing aircraft and operations, the Air Force awarded Xwing a Military Flight Release (MFR) to operate its autonomous aircraft for Public Aircraft Operations (PAO); such approval enables Xwing to deliver official Air Force cargo with autonomous taxis, takeoffs, and landings at military and civilian installations.
