Joby Aviation, Inc., a company developing all-electric aircraft for commercial passenger service, today announced the appointment of Lt. Gen. (ret) Scott Howell, former Commander of the Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC), to the Company’s Advisory Board.
As JSOC Commander, Lt. Gen. Howell was responsible for the readiness and mission execution of highly-specialized forces across the Army, Air Force, Navy, and Marines. Howell previously served as Vice Commander of U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), focused on organizing, training, and equipping more than 70,000 Special Operations personnel, as well as the organization’s acquisitions and budgeting. Lt. Gen. Howell served in special operations for over two decades and deployed extensively.
“The U.S. government and, in particular, the Department of Defense have been important partners to Joby for more than five years, supporting the development and testing of our technology through access to DoD expertise, feedback, and facilities,” said JoeBen Bevirt, Founder and CEO of Joby.
“Our collaboration is a vital source of operational experience and near-term support for research and development activities, and, as we move closer to our primary goal of launching a commercial aerial ridesharing service, we look forward to growing these partnerships, as we draw on Scott’s broad experience in this field,” he added.
In August 2022, Joby announced it had expanded its existing research and development contract with the U.S. Air Force to include new testing to evaluate Joby’s advanced technologies, bringing the contract’s total potential value to $75 million and widening the Company’s defense partnerships to incorporate the U.S. Marine Corps.
Commenting on his appointment, Lt. Gen. Howell said: “The commercial sector has a great deal to offer the military in terms of speed of innovation and insight into future technology. Joby is at the leading edge of eVTOL aircraft development, and I’m looking forward to supporting the team in demonstrating the capabilities of their aircraft in a wide range of operational use cases.”
Howell, a career special operations helicopter pilot with more than 2,600 hours of flight experience, joins Joby’s Advisory Board, sitting alongside Paul Rinaldi, former President of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA), and Dan Elwell, former Acting Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration.