Reliable Robotics gets FAA approval to test automated aircraft systems

Reliable Robotics, a Silicon Valley startup aiming to automate conventional fixed-wing planes, has received approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to proceed with its plan to test and certify fully automated aircraft systems, the company said on Thursday.

"We're three to four years out from being able to remotely operate these aircraft at any kind of reasonable scale," said Robert Rose, co-founder and chief executive of the Mountain View, California-based company which aims to license its autonomous flight system to other companies.

"We want to be on multiple aircraft frames (and) sell into multiple markets," including cargo and military applications, said Rose, a former executive with Tesla and SpaceX.


The US Department of Defense, which is a development partner, is interested in installing Reliable's software and hardware on the workhorse KC-135, a four-engine military companion to the Boeing 707 that dates to the late 1950s and is still used for refueling and cargo transport.

NASA is also working with Reliable systems engineers on advanced air mobility research, and said test data will be used to evaluate flight path procedures for future aircraft.

Reliable raised $100 million from investors in October 2021, and Rose said the company, while not actively fundraising, "will definitely require some additional capital".

He said he expects to see Reliable's automated systems installed on passenger aircraft by the end of the decade, capping a decade's worth of testing and certification.

"The cost is high and the time scales are long, but the payoff is huge," he said. "I really believe people are going to look back and see this as a defining aspect of the 21st century, when aviation really fulfilled its promise."