Joby Aviation Q2 2023 Earnings Call Transcript

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Provided by Quartr
August 2, 2023

Key Takeaways

  • Joby achieved all Q2 goals: submitted all FAA certification plans and rolled out and flew its first production prototype following extensive ground tests.
  • Advancing certification, the company has had two-thirds of its 13 area-specific cert plans accepted and is moving into Stage 4 conforming testing, beginning with its flight control computer.
  • Proprietary propulsion and energy systems include a direct-drive motor delivering torque without a gearbox and a pouch-cell battery pack offering 288 Wh/kg at cell level and 10,000+ flight cycles.
  • Production is ramping with Toyota’s support—Ted Ogawa joined Joby’s board—and the next aircraft are already on the line as the team evaluates sites for a scaled manufacturing facility.
  • With a strong balance sheet of $1.2 billion cash and securities, Joby reported a Q2 net loss of $286 million, an adjusted EBITDA loss of $83 million, and remains on track for $360–380 million 2023 cash burn.
AI Generated. May Contain Errors.
Earnings Conference Call
Joby Aviation Q2 2023
00:00 / 00:00

There are 11 speakers on the call.

Operator

Greetings, and welcome to Joby Aviation's Second Quarter 2023 Conference Call and Webcast. At this time, all participants are in a listen only mode. As a reminder, this conference is being recorded. It is now my pleasure to introduce your host, Theresa Therizdiel.

Speaker 1

Thank you, and thanks, everyone, for joining us today For a discussion of Joby Aviation's Second Quarter 2023 Financial Results, my name is Theresa Thurafiel, and I'm Joby's Head of Investor Relations. On the call today, we have Joe Van Beveert, Founder and Chief Executive Officer Paul Chiara, Executive Chairman Didier Papadopoulos, Head of Aircraft OEM and Matt Field, Chief Financial Officer. After management's prepared remarks, we will open up the call for questions. Please note that our discussion today will include statements regarding future events and financial performance as well as statements of belief, expectation and intent. These forward looking statements are based on management's current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied.

Speaker 1

For a more detailed discussion of these risks and uncertainties, please refer to our filings with the SEC and the Safe Harbor disclaimer contained in today's shareholder letter. The forward looking statements included in this call are made only as of the date of this call, and the company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them. Also, during the call, we will refer both to GAAP and non GAAP financial measures. A reconciliation of non GAAP to GAAP measures is included in our Q2 2023 shareholder letter, which you can find on our Investor Relations website along with the replay of this call. And with all of that said, I'll now turn the call over to Joe Bennett.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Theresa, and thank you everyone for joining us today. I'm pleased to say that we had an incredible second quarter. I often talk about the commitment our team has to delivering on our goals, but this quarter, the team really knocked it out of the park, consistently on time and in every area of our business. Back in our Q4 call, we outlined goals for the first half of twenty twenty three. We said we would submit all of our certification plans to the FAA and we did.

Speaker 2

We said we would roll out our first production prototype and fly it And we have. I'm pleased to confirm that the aircraft flew for the first time last week following extensive ground testing. It performed as expected and we're looking forward to expanding our flight test program with the aircraft before delivering it to Edwards Air Force Base in DCORCE. We also said we would select a site for our scaled manufacturing facility. While we could have made a decision in the first half of the year, We've had a remarkable amount of interest in hosting this facility, and so we've taken the opportunity to spend some additional time evaluating various sites to ensure we Sure, the very best long term solution and incentive package.

Speaker 2

Each of these goals is a huge milestone for Joby and reflects Our relentless commitment to execution. It's a real team effort and I'd like to thank each and every member of the Joby team for their hard work in achieving these goals. The rollout of our production prototype was particularly special because it's the culmination of more than a decade of hard work. We have been building and flying full scale aircraft since 2017. But to be able to build with this level of rigor is a huge step forward And we're incredibly proud of the performance our aircraft delivers.

Speaker 2

Our motors each provide 2 36 kilowatts of peak power. With 6 propulsion units on the aircraft, that's nearly twice the power of a Model S Plaid, the most powerful Tesla there is, and yet the entire aircraft weighs less than the car. Our motors play an important role in keeping that The dual wound motor and inverter weigh just 28 kilograms together, and we've been able to combine the coolant pump, radiator, Fan, hub, propeller and pitch servo actuation into the same package. But it's not just the power and the weight that makes The motor is special. It's the way in which that power gets delivered.

Speaker 2

We've designed motors that are incredibly torque dense, Offering as much torque as the engine of a heavy duty Ford F-three fifty pickup truck. And we've done this without a gearbox. Gearboxes come with a multitude of rolling element bearings and dozens of gear teeth that are constantly running through fatigue cycles. Each one of these parts has to be tracked, inspected, lubricated and replaced throughout the lifetime of the motor. They also create excess vibration.

Speaker 2

Instead, we've designed the Joby Direct Drive. Our motors deliver all of the power and torque that we need with only one moving part, a single bearing. Our story is similar when it comes to batteries. We didn't want to compromise. We wanted to find the best possible solution, even if it took more work on our part.

Speaker 2

Over the last 6 years, we've tested hundreds of cells in our own testing lab. The obvious choice would have been a cylindrical cell. They're widely used in automotive and consumer electronics, but even the best cylindrical cells presented 2 major challenges. They didn't offer the level of specific energy we need for maximum performance, And we found their capacity deteriorated after just a few thousand trip cycles. That would mean more frequent battery pack replacement and higher operating cost.

Speaker 2

So we chose a pouch cell, one that delivered on every metric that mattered to designing a highly efficient and safe EBITDAL aircraft. The cells we're using in our production plane come from the automotive supply chain and deliver 2 88 watt hours per kilogram at the cell level. And we've demonstrated in our lab that they're capable of more than 10,000 representative flight cycles. At the PAC level, we're delivering 2 35 watt hours per kilogram, which is a higher specific energy than many of the cells we've tested on the bench. And with all of our area specific certification plans now submitted, we have a clear path to certify our battery packs.

Speaker 2

Our approach of custom designing key parts allows us to deliver the highest possible performance without carrying excess weight or compromising functionality. And it has allowed us to deliver on one of our core company goals, having the right aircraft for the market. Our production aircraft is set to be the lightest, quietest and fastest 4 passenger eVTOL in the skies. We'll be able to carry £1,000 of payload and we'll be deploying our aircraft on trips of up to 100 miles, making it perfectly suited for operations in urban areas. As we begin to ramp manufacturing, Toyota's support has been invaluable, whether it's the design of specific tools and processes or the layout of the facility itself.

Speaker 2

And to recognize that support, We were honored to have Ted Agawa, President and CEO of Toyota North America, speak at our production launch event in June. Ted joined the Joby Board of Directors on July 1, and we're looking forward to working together. During that same week, We had 2 other important visits that demonstrate the wide ranging support we're seeing for aerial mobility in the U. S. California Governor, Gavin Newsom joined us to celebrate the launch of production here and more than 70 representatives from President Biden's AAM The government's commitment Ensuring U.

Speaker 2

S. Leadership in this sector was also reinforced by the publication of the FAA's AAM Roadmap in July. This document outlines how existing rules, existing infrastructure and the planned publication of the SBAR document in 2024 We'll enable real meaningful commercial operations to start in 2025. The document also talks About the work the FAA is doing to bring forward upgrades to air traffic control and operating rules that would enable the U. S.

Speaker 2

To deliver world leading capacity for eVTOL aircraft by 2028. This is a remarkably positive step With the FAA effectively pulling forward the date, it is planning to support scaled operations from the 2030s to 2028 As I said at the outset, this has been an incredible quarter. On top of all of the progress we've made, We've also been able to strengthen our balance sheet and we now have $1,200,000,000 of funds available to us. Having such a strong balance sheet won't change our thoughtful approach to spending, but it does allow us to accelerate early production and ensure we're best positioned to start commercial operations in the U. S.

Speaker 2

In 2025 as planned for by the FAA. It also puts us in a great position to achieve the sort of scale the FAA is planning for by 2028. And on that note, Didier, over to you.

Speaker 3

Thank you, Jo Ben. I would like to start by focusing on our certification progress. As we mentioned at the top of the call, We have now submitted all of our certification plans to the FAA. And importantly, we already have 2 thirds of these accepted. These submissions include 13 area specific cert plans, hardware and software cert plans for every system on board, as well as certification plans covering areas such as aircraft cybersecurity and system safety.

Speaker 3

Taken together, they form the 3rd of 5 stages of the certification process. And I'm very proud of our team for getting us to this point And for submitting these plans on time, just as we promised we would in our Q4 call. I can't stress how important this progress is. Every time we take a step forward on defining our certification basis, We take risk off the table and solidify our path towards type certification. Looking at the progress chart that we include in our shareholder letter each quarter, you will see that we made progress across Stages 2, 3 and 4.

Speaker 3

And that is because certification is not a linear process. For systems accepted at stage 3, We are able to proceed formally into Stage 4. Similarly, some plans are submitted and then resubmitted following dialogue with the FAA. That iteration and dialogue is reflected in the minor fluctuations you will see in the numbers. What matters most when you look at these numbers is that the vast majority of our certification basis is now in place, which means the vast majority of our effort is now focused On the implementation stage of our certification, which starts with stage 4.

Speaker 3

In stage 4, We write and then execute test plans that demonstrate the compliance of every individual part, subsystem and system in the aircraft. And we do that through a combination of engineering analysis and real life physical testing, either in the lab or eventually on the aircraft. And for each of the thousands of tests we'll do, and there will be thousands, we complete internal company verification first before performing the test for FAA credit, which they will verify as part of Stage 5. Essentially, that means we dry run each and every test to ensure we're ready. We think about this testing regime as a pyramid, with individual parts forming the bottom step of the pyramid and the full aircraft at the top.

Speaker 3

We start at the base of the pyramid, riding test plans and completing tests on individual parts. We then work our way up the pyramid, building those individual parts into subsystems that also get tested. And the further up the pyramid we go, the more systems and parts we build together until we get to the top where we will test the full aircraft as one coherent Here, our production prototype will play an important role in supporting aircraft level development testing. We are hard at work developing several test plans, test setups and multiple parts as we increase focus on this phase. As our progress chart shows, we've already made inroads in Stage 4 and during the quarter we submitted test plans for our flight control computer, which is one of the individual parts at the base of the pyramid.

Speaker 3

We then went on to successfully complete internal company verification on the flight control Meaning, we're now ready to start for credit testing on that part with the FAA. We will be working on Stage 4 right up to the end of the certification process, and I'm looking forward to sharing updates on our progress each quarter. But now I'd like to add a few words to what Jo Ben said about our production prototype aircraft. It's not in your career that you get the opportunity to roll an aircraft off a brand new production line and particularly not an aircraft as revolutionary as ours. It was a proud moment to join more than 1,000 guests, including many of our team members at our production line in Marina to celebrate this achievement.

Speaker 3

Designing and building a full scale demonstrator takes a huge amount of work. We know because we did that in 2017 and again in 2019. But moving from those first full scale prototypes to a production system where we have a repeatable process for building aircraft It's building the machine that builds the machine. And I'm pleased to say our next Aircraft is already working its way down our production line with parts for the aircraft after that being manufactured already. Creating an aerospace production system means utilizing engineering drawings that have been verified and released to our manufacturing team With a system for configuration management, it means having full traceability of material and components from start to finish, including every fastener and every strip of raw carbon fiber.

Speaker 3

It means delivering manufacturing processes that are repeatable with quality control systems to test and validate the structure and function of everything on the aircraft. It's a really meaningful step forward for Joby and one that lays the groundwork for us to ramp up and scale our production efficiently. And with that, I'll hand it over to Matt. Thanks, Didier. As Joven mentioned, at the end of

Speaker 4

the Q1, we have $1,200,000,000 Cash and short term marketable securities. This includes the investment from Bailey Gifford of $180,000,000 received in May And the investment from SK Telecom of $100,000,000 received in June. In our call last quarter, we talked about Bailey Gifford and their long term investment horizon and their support for Joby. Our relationship with SK Telecom is very similar. The investment made last quarter builds upon a partnership that was first established in early 2022 and like our partnerships with Delta and Uber is focused on building long term enduring value through aligning our goals with the value we expect to build together by bringing our air taxi service In the Q2 of 2023, we incurred a net loss of $286,000,000 reflecting negative other income of about $170,000,000 and a loss from operations of nearly $116,000,000 Other income from the quarter primarily reflected the $181,000,000 unfavorable revaluation

Operator

from

Speaker 4

our derivative liabilities as the price of our shares rose significantly during the quarter, partly offset by net interest income of 11,000,000 Adjusted EBITDA, a non GAAP metric that we reconcile to our net loss in our shareholder letter, was a loss of $83,000,000 This was about $9,000,000 higher than the Q2 of 2022, reflecting increased staffing and cost to support certification, partly offset by increased payments from government contract deliverables. Our adjusted EBITDA loss was about $8,000,000 higher than the Q1, reflecting the growth in our organization, expenses to support manufacturing and certification and the non recurrence of Specific DoD contract deliverables achieved in the Q1. Our global staffing with more than 1500 employees continues to grow to support our company's certification and manufacturing efforts. Cash used in operating activities and purchases The property and equipment totaled $77,000,000 in the Q2 of 2023. The reduction compared with the Q1 reflects reflecting higher investments made in the Q1.

Speaker 4

In the Q3, we expect to have an additional pay period consistent with the Q1 and last Through the 1st 6 months of 2023, our cash used in operating activities and the purchase of property and equipment totaled $64,000,000 and we remain on track with our spending guidance of $360,000,000 to $380,000,000 for the full year. Before we finish our prepared remarks, I'd like to draw your attention to the ESG report that we published this quarter. While it's a first step for Joby and for the wider industry, We believe it's important as it supports our goal of having a positive impact on every aspect of our work. Like our certification progress chart, which we started publishing a year ago. We believe it provides our stakeholders with important transparency on our progress and that of the wider industry.

Speaker 4

This concludes our prepared remarks. Operator, would you please instruct participants on how to ask questions?

Operator

Thank you. We will now be conducting a question and answer A confirmation tone will indicate your line is in the question Our first question comes from the line of Andres Sheppard with Cantor Fitzgerald. Please proceed with your question.

Speaker 5

Hello, everyone. Good afternoon. Congratulations on another quarter and thanks for taking our questions. Wanted to maybe start off, was Curious to get some of your thoughts around the FAA implementation guide that we saw come in a few weeks ago. I know there was some confusion about what scale was in the 20 28 timeline versus 2025.

Speaker 5

Just curious to get maybe your thoughts on it, what stood out and perhaps what do you think is perhaps confusing some investors? Thank you.

Speaker 2

Hey, Andres. Great to catch up. So we were really pleased with the work that the FAA did. Again, as I said in my prepared remarks, really pulling forward the timeline for Significant operations to 2028 in time for the Olympics, as well as committing to the ability for us to And others in the industry to deliver meaningful operations in the period Time between 20252028.

Speaker 5

Got it. Thanks, Jobin. And maybe to follow-up, I was wondering if you could maybe get a little more clarity on the DoD contract. That's coming up We know what the contract is worth. Just trying to wrap our head around what it will mean in terms of Revenue, when might that show up?

Speaker 5

Just is there any more visibility around that as of today? Thank you.

Speaker 6

Hi, Andreas. This is Paul. Happy to cover sort of the DoD work. I mean, just to put a To give you guys a little bit of color, we're obviously very much focused on delivering on the aircraft that are required for that contract and really beginning to prepare So we mentioned that the aircraft that we rolled off the production line is going to be the 1st aircraft that is delivered on that contract. But we've also already put a number of Air Force pilots through our pilot training program.

Speaker 6

They went through both the sit down portion of the training, the simulator training and actually did remote piloted So that was a really great trial run of the same sort of pilot training program that we are eventually going rollout on the consumer side. So we're happy to check that box. And then lastly, we've even started work down on Edwards in terms of setting up the charging infrastructure It's going to be required for operations. So on the Joby side, we're full steam ahead in terms of being able to deliver on the contract As soon as possible. A number of the aircraft that are sort of sitting behind the aircraft that we rolled off the line are also designated for Edwards.

Speaker 6

So getting to those milestones is something that we are squarely focused on. And I think the reason is really 2 1 is obviously the opportunity to generate revenue across that contract. But second and even more importantly, it's really the first opportunity for us To deliver a product to a customer and have it operate in the real world as opposed to on our test facility. And there are tons of learnings that come from that. Already things like the pilot training, the maintenance profile, we want to make sure that we get all of those learnings as soon as possible with the largest number of aircraft And that's the way that we're sort of directing our efforts here.

Speaker 5

Got it. Thank you, Paul.

Operator

Matt, just

Speaker 4

following up on your revenue question. So, the teams are still working through the accounting pieces, but we would expect that to start early 2024 when the vehicles go on base as well, but that's our present timing, but No specifics that we're going to guide towards at this point.

Speaker 5

Got it. Thanks, Paul. Thanks, Matt. Maybe just one last quick one, if I may, and apologies if I missed this on the prepared remarks, but are there any changes to the expected annual cash burn for this year? And I know last quarter was 3.60 to 3.80.

Speaker 5

Not sure if I missed that. Are there any changes to that for this year? Thanks, Matt.

Speaker 4

No. Yes, no problem. No changes this year. First half, 164, right on track. And we're holding with our guidance of $3.60 to $3.80 Thanks.

Speaker 5

Wonderful. Appreciate it. Thanks so much guys and congrats on the quarter. I'll pass it on.

Operator

Our next question comes from the line of Austin Moeller with Canaccord Genuity. Please proceed with your question.

Speaker 7

Hi, good afternoon. Just my first question here, the FAA is expected To issue their final rule on advanced air mobility by the end of 2024. So how do you think the timing of that might The delivery and receipt of the type certificates once all the flight data has been collected in the allies.

Speaker 2

Thank you, Austin. So these are 2 separate pieces of our path to certification. The SFAR pertains to the operations of the aircraft. And as The FAA has been repeatedly confirming that they are on track to deliver that in 2024. The second piece of that is of our path To commercial operations is our type certification of the aircraft and that work as Didier outlined is proceeding Really, really well.

Speaker 2

We've submitted the last of the area specific certification plans As we plan to do on schedule.

Speaker 7

Okay, that's helpful. And just on the AFWERX Do you expect that the DoD will ultimately have multiple eVTOL vendors On a future program of record, do you think they might down select to 1 vehicle?

Speaker 6

Hi, Austin. This is Paul. Thanks for the question. I really can't speak to what the DoD may be planning nor can I speak to the specifics of The contract that was sort of previously announced by Archer? I mean, I think what I can say is that I think the it speaks to the depth Of the market opportunity on the DoD side of things.

Speaker 6

And I should say that at least from our perspective, that expands well beyond just AppWorks. As we already announced, we actually started our work with DIU almost 6 years ago. We progressed that to a project with AFWERX and Then we even added the Marines as well to that contract late last year, early this year. And we're in active Discussion with other branches of the military and other agencies in the government around what additional aircraft would look like. So we really see some of these events as positive

Speaker 7

Okay, great. Thank you for all the details.

Operator

You may press star 1 to join the question and answer queue. Our next question comes from the line of Savi Syth with Raymond James. Please proceed with your question.

Speaker 8

Hey, good afternoon. I was curious, what factors Internally, but probably more important at the FAA, do you need finalization before you start kind of building the actual

Speaker 3

Hey, Savi. Thanks for the question. This is Didier. Yes, great question. So I think if we step back and think about the 5 stages of certification, really need to be thinking about that both at the aircraft level, but also at the building blocks of the pyramid that I talked about earlier.

Speaker 3

The three stages that we have Achieved to date with submittal of the ARRAS specific certification plans really target all of these systems that Make out an aircraft. So think of an aircraft as being built out of systems. The key area of focus right now for us is To start the conforming testing, which is Stage 4, of those components and systems that go into an aircraft. And that's why We talked about how we're focusing on getting into full credit testing with the flight control computer right now. You'll be seeing us progressing Into some of the larger systems here, moving into the airframe as an example and some other areas building into the airplane.

Speaker 3

What's more critical also is the fact that we have built an aircraft and delivered on that just here recently with the rollout. This aircraft will be effectively the validation that feeds into all of the other conforming Testing that we're doing and drive us into delivering the conforming airplane on time. And all of this is for the plan. Expect to have a conforming airplane Really, the focus now needs to be on those building blocks that go into that pyramid.

Speaker 8

Did you just To clarify, so do you need the kind of acceptance of all the certifications that you've submitted to be able To go forward or is there any kind of further specifications that you need to hear from the FAA? Just curious

Speaker 3

That's a great question. When you think about a conforming airframe, The aircraft is also intended for a specific purpose, right, and the conforming aircraft could be dedicated, for example, for flight control purposes, right? So if you think about the Flight Control, the performance swim lane as an example, then you would need the certification plans and the certification tests Associated with that area accepted by the FAA. So it's swim lanes. That means we can continue to proceed even at the aircraft level with specific areas, Even though some other areas may be still under discussions with the FAA.

Speaker 3

So really, tranches is how we should think about that.

Speaker 8

That's helpful. Appreciate it. And if I might, with some of the capital that was raised recently, I think it was noted that Capital enables the acceleration of certain events. And I was wondering if you could provide a little bit more color on what those might be?

Speaker 6

Hi, Savi. This is Paul. Thanks for the question. Yes, when we made the announcement around the additional investment from the folks at Bailey a few months ago, That to us was an opportunity to accelerate and sort of forward invest in areas of pilot production to make sure that we could support The brand new opportunities that presented themselves with the new DoD contract that we announced at the time. So a lot of the work that some folks were able to see When we they came down to the rollout event around the scale up of that pilot production facility, the number of aircraft that we're starting to roll off the line there, All of that is really some of that forward investment in play.

Speaker 8

Got it. Helpful. Thank you.

Operator

Our next question comes from the line of Bill Peterson with JPMorgan. Please proceed with your question.

Speaker 9

Hi, good afternoon. This is Nahima Kakanya on for Bill. We really appreciate the disclosure around the aircraft motors and batteries. I think we've heard it's generally viewed that pouch So as well, higher performance and other advantages could also have more areas of failure, especially when it comes to thermal runaway. Could you provide some color on what Joby is doing on the module and PAC side to mitigate some of that safety risk?

Speaker 2

Thank you, Mohim. This is Joe Van. Appreciate the question. So we've been very thoughtful about the Selection of ourselves, we began testing cells in our lab many years ago and have tested lots of different formats of cells. And we when we think about cell selection, we're thinking about many different dimensions, including and foremost, The safety, we have done some groundbreaking innovation on at The pack level, the module level to ensure that we can form with The standards that we've agreed to with the FAA and again, as Didier spoke about, the Having submitted all of our area specific certification plans is a huge milestone.

Speaker 2

We've been working with the FAA On all of these requirements, for many years since back before 2018 when we first applied for type certification. And so this is a monumental achievement for the Joby team to be able to Now moving into the stage where we can do for credit testing. Of course, we've been doing testing in our labs On cells, on thermal runaway, on dropping packs, proving to ourselves that we have The safety and the performance across all the different dimensions and across all of the systems. And so we're really, really pleased with the progress that we're

Speaker 9

Thank you, Joven. Really appreciate that color. Maybe a second one for me, but what is your view on the FAA's proposed reserve requirements for power lift aircrafts being Consistent with some larger aircrafts, I believe it's 30 minutes in the daytime and then 45 minutes at night. Are these requirements Built into your current expectations and into your certification plans? Just curious there.

Speaker 3

Yes, Raimo, this is Didier. I'll Take that one. So we were aware of some of the proposed reserves here and do understand that They're really you got to step back and think about these reserves as intended to cover a wide area of range of the market. We are in discussions with The FAA, just like with other applicants on the specificity of the reserves required for our operations. Back to your second question.

Speaker 3

The numbers that we have provided do have considerations for reserve, specifically Around the areas of the market that we're targeting, and so that's obviously part of our considerations, both in our certification plans and The operations that we're planning around.

Speaker 9

Okay. That's really helpful. Thanks

Operator

Our next question comes from the line of Edison Yu with Deutsche Bank. Please proceed with your question.

Speaker 10

Hey, thanks for taking the questions. First off, I want to come back on FAA 2028. How do you interpret when they say large Deployment, is that 20, 50, 100? And what's your sort of view on how fast that can ramp assuming we do

Speaker 2

Thanks, Edison. This is Joven. So, The numbers that I had heard informally from the FAA were substantially larger than the numbers you were just speaking about in In the U. S, but I would leave it to the FAA to formally state those numbers.

Speaker 10

Understood. And then on the DoD, the military opportunity, Now that we have I know we cited the contract with Archer, what's your view on sort of the total kind of opportunity there? Is this either in terms of dollar value, in terms of number of aircraft? And is there optionality later on to work with Friendly allies or is this going to be kind of very focused on U. S.

Speaker 10

Launch?

Speaker 6

Hi, Harrison. This is Paul. Happy to pick that one up. So I think it's probably premature to sort of size The overall market opportunity across DoD and sort of other government customers, but it's fair to say that it's large. I mean, if you take a look at the Army, for example, they operate the largest rotorcraft fleet in the world, and that's just one of the number of branches of the DoD.

Speaker 6

And that doesn't include other areas of government, whether it's Customs and Border Patrol or other sort of agencies that sort of sit in the broader under the broader umbrella. So I think the thing that we are focused on right now with respect to DoD is getting aircraft into service. It's very important, I think both for the customer and for us to be delivering product, seeing that product perform against the mission types that are valuable to that Customer and learning the things that we need to learn about how these operate, how they're maintained, how to sort of produce them at progressively higher volume. So that's the thing that we think is sort of most important about the DoD opportunity for us in the near term. This isn't something that's 2 or 3 or 5 years away.

Speaker 6

This is something that we're executing on right now and we've got opportunities to begin to turn over those cards both on the revenue side And on the learning side, very, very quickly. The faster we do that, the faster we have an opportunity to begin to expand those opportunities outside of AFWERX and the Marines to other branches and in turn to other agencies in the government.

Speaker 10

Got it. And if I could sneak one more in on that. Have you provided an indication on how much sort of contra R and D The contract is provided thus far?

Speaker 4

Hey, Edison, it's Matt. No, we've not provided that data. Once we start getting to revenue and so We'll probably start talking a bit more about that, but we've not provided any specifics about the contra R and D.

Speaker 10

Okay. Thank you.

Speaker 4

Thanks, Edison.

Operator

And we have reached the end of the question and answer session. I would now like to turn the conference back over To Joby Aviation's CEO, Joe Ben Bivard, for closing comments.

Speaker 2

Thank you all so much for joining us. We're Really grateful for your participation. As we said at the top of the call, we're laser focused on execution. That's on certification, Manufacturing and as we prepare for the launch of our commercial service, we're very pleased with our execution over The first half, and we're just going to continue to deliver. Also very grateful for the support, Whether that's the national, state and local level and from international governments, the momentum building in this industry has never been greater.

Speaker 2

Also, very appreciative of the FAA and the focus that they're putting on this important new industry. Finally, I would love to express my sincere gratitude to everyone on the Joby team Who's been working really, really hard and absolutely knocking it out of the park. Thank you all. And just close with we've got the strongest balance sheet in the business, But that doesn't mean that we're going to lose our focus on spending very, very thoughtfully and delivering exceptional results. So thank you again for joining us, and we're really looking forward to catching you again soon.

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