Jaunt Air Mobility Receives Market Research Investment to Advance U.S. DoD High-Speed VTOL Capabilities

DALLAS--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jaunt Air Mobility today announced advancing to the next phase of the AFWERX High-Speed Vertical Take-Off and Landing (HSVTOL) Concept Challenge, a crowdsourcing effort for the United States Air Force (USAF) and United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). The company is one of 11 companies from more than 200 challenge entrants selected to receive market research investments aimed at advancing solutions that enable optimal agility in austere environments.

"We are incredibly pleased to be working with the Air Force and SOCOM," said Jesse Crispino, Chief Operations Officer for Jaunt. "We were confident in our team's knowledge of the mission requirements, having been personally involved in these types of operations, and our engineering capability to apply Jaunt's Slowed Rotor Compound (SRC) technologies."

The contract is to develop two conceptual designs with the initial aircraft proposal for the Multi-Mission Air Vehicle (MAV 55), which brings the speed and capabilities of a fixed-wing aircraft combined with VTOL through Jaunt's highly efficient patented SRC technologies. Benefits of these unique technologies also include minimal aircraft downwash for operations where actual aircraft landing is prohibitive and overall acoustic signature reductions.

Jaunt's solution meets the broader HSVTOL conceptual framework that increases the trade space of speed, range, survivability, payload, size, and flexibility to carry out USAF and USSOCOM missions across the full spectrum of conflict and political scenarios. It emerged as a top-tier entrant in the HSVTOL Concept Challenge by meeting or exceeding rigorous evaluation criteria focused on technical merit, reliability, scalability, and other factors.

"The HSVTOL Concept Challenge has surfaced an impressive range and caliber of solutions to help us understand how to build a new class of air vehicles," said Dr. Reid Melville, Chief Innovation Officer, Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Transformational Capabilities Office. "We believe the organizations selected to receive market research investments at this stage have the potential to deliver truly groundbreaking innovation."

Over the next six months, Jaunt will further develop its MAV 55 solution, working closely with the USAF, USSOCOM, and Collaboration.Ai, the prime contractor facilitating the HSVTOL Concept Challenge.

About Jaunt
Jaunt Air Mobility is a transformative aerospace company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, with design and manufacturing located in Montreal, Canada. Jaunt is building the next generation of eVTOL (electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing) and hybrid-electric VTOL aircraft for faster, quieter, and safer travel over urban areas, moving people and packages. Jaunt is the global leader in developing Slowed-Rotor Compound (SRC) technology. The Jaunt Journey is the world's first electric aircraft combining helicopter and fixed-wing aircraft flight capabilities. Jaunt has teamed with Tier 1 aviation partners to develop the Journey and work with global operators to provide this new form of travel. Jaunt offers the most operationally efficient aircraft with a zero-carbon footprint. For more information, visit www.jauntairmobility.com.

About AFWERX
Established in 2017, AFWERX is a product of the U.S. Air Force. It was envisioned by former Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson, who aimed to solve some of the toughest challenges the Air Force faces through innovation and collaboration among the nation's top subject matter experts. AFWERX and the U.S. Air Force are committed to exploring viable solutions and partnerships to further strengthen the Air Force, which could lead to additional prototyping, R&D, and follow-on production contracts. For more information, visit afwerxchallenge.com.

About Collaboration.Ai
Collaboration.Ai is a software and services provider based in Minneapolis, MN. The company believes new ideas, stronger human connections, and intelligent networks can lift up individuals, organizations, and communities. Using design thinking and artificial intelligence, Collaboration.Ai helps organizations drive innovation, engineer more impactful teams, augment the human networking experience, and connect the right people, at the right time, around the right ideas. For more information, visit collaboration.ai.