05 November 2026 | News
Image Courtesy: Public Domain
Reliable Robotics, the leader in autonomous aircraft systems, has completed its first autonomous cross-country flight in its upgraded Cessna 208B Caravan. The two-day, 1,375 nautical mile journey began at the Albuquerque International Sunport Airport (KABQ), included a stop in Shreveport, Louisiana (KDTN) and culminated with a fully autonomous landing at Florida’s historic Kennedy Space Center (KTTS) for the UP.Summit, an annual event highlighting the future of transportation.
The Caravan integrated seamlessly throughout the National Airspace System (NAS), completing autonomous taxi, takeoff, en route and landing operations throughout the flight, while carrying hundreds of pounds of payload. Equipped with the Reliable Autonomy System (RAS), which enables full gate-to-gate autonomous operations, the aircraft operated under instrument flight rules (IFR) throughout the flight, utilizing the RAS to safely aviate, navigate and communicate. A remote pilot stationed at Reliable’s headquarters in Mountain View, California, communicated with air traffic control and commanded the aircraft in real time, from more than 1,000 miles away. Zero interventions occurred from the onboard pilot during the operation, including during poor weather conditions causing low visibility, known as instrument meteorological conditions (IMC).
“This operation was an important milestone toward certification and commercial operations of the Reliable Autonomy System,” said Robert Rose, CEO and co-founder, Reliable Robotics. “What’s most exciting to me is the fact that the flights themselves were not exciting. Fully automated management of the entire aircraft: This is the future of flight!”
Reliable is certifying its industry-first autonomy system for commercial use in the United States through the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The company holds the only FAA-accepted certification plan and means of compliance for continuous autopilot engagement. The cross country trip validates the operational readiness of the company’s dual-use autonomy technology for commercial freight and defense logistics operations.
