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Xwing Signs Agreement with Textron Aviation to Aid in Development of Autonomous Flight
- Xwing
- Oct 12, 2021
- 2 min read
PRESS RELEASE | October 12, 2021 - San Francisco, CA
Xwing, the company pioneering autonomy for aviation, today announces it has signed a joint development agreement with Textron Aviation Inc., a Textron Inc. (NYSE:TXT) company. Under this non-exclusive agreement, Xwing and Textron Aviation, home to the iconic Cessna and Beechcraft brands, can begin to work together to accelerate the seamless integration of autoflight technologies into existing and future aircraft, beginning with the Cessna Grand Caravan.
On the heels of its recent $40M funding round, $400M valuation, and completion of the world’s first autonomous gate-to-gate flight of a commercial cargo aircraft, Xwing enters the agreement as a leader in autonomous flight technology.
“It’s an honor to work with Textron Aviation to optimize the next generation of aircraft for autonomous flight,” said Marc Piette, CEO and founder at Xwing. “Cessna Grand Caravan single-engine utility turboprops have long been Xwing’s aircraft of choice. Best suited and reliable for the air cargo industry, Cessna’s Grand Caravan fleet has accumulated millions of flight hours. We look forward to playing a role in furthering the development of an autonomous aircraft using this platform as we reimagine the potential of autonomous technology within the aviation industry.”
This joint development agreement arrives as eCommerce demand continues to grow domestically and internationally, an increase of 32.4 percent in 2020 alone. A limited number of pilots, flight cancelations, higher costs, and delays across both commercial and cargo aviation, have led manufacturers to explore technological solutions at scale.
“The general aviation industry is ripe for new technologies,” said Chris Hearne, senior vice president, engineering at Textron Aviation. “Textron Aviation has many of the most proven and scalable aviation solutions in the industry, and we are pleased to be the place where innovators like Xwing come for aircraft platforms.”
Under this agreement, Xwing will bring its autonomous flight technology and use cases, while Textron Aviation brings its more than 90 years of aircraft engineering, design and manufacturing processes.
Already trusted by major logistic companies, Xwing has consistently prioritized impact-led deliveries in its air cargo strategy to date. In 2020, Xwing worked to alleviate some of the widespread shortages caused by increased demand for cargo shipping during the pandemic -- delivering PPE and school supplies to the Navajo Nation Reservation. To expand its cargo capabilities across the United States, Xwing is working closely with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for approval to bring its technology to market.
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Fascinating to see Xwing and Textron Aviation push the boundaries of autonomous flight precision. The level of accuracy required in aviation technology reminds me of how important precise calibration is in other fields too — whether it's flight systems or even a DIP test for mouse sensitivity, getting the settings right makes all the difference.
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The reader sees this as an innovative and practical step. Xwing's relationship with Textron Aviation overcomes the pilot shortage, feeds the e-commerce sector, and brings commercial autonomous aircraft to the Cessna queue. It thrills like Run 3—a persistent pursuit of space to open new aeronautical frontiers. and works rationally, I thought of supply chain management in Monkey Mart, but on a million times more intricate scale. Xwing, good luck with STC certification!