The Alia, an all-electric airplane, comes in for a landing at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Oct. 26, 2023. The plane will be put through its paces over the next few months by the 413th Flight Test Squadron. (Samuel King Jr./U.S. Air Force)
The Air Force is to begin testing an all-electric manned aircraft at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, as the U.S. military looks for ways to reduce its carbon footprint.
An Alia airplane arrived Thursday at Eglin’s Duke Field ahead of months of experimental work by the 413th Flight Test Squadron, the Air Force said in a statement. The first test is scheduled for Nov. 7, the statement said.
“It is going to transform the way we see air travel in the world,” Col. Elliott Leigh, director of the service’s innovation arm AFWERX, said in the statement. “It is also going to transform the way we have air power in the Air Force.”
The single Alia model being tested in Florida can fly over 330 nautical miles on a single charge. It has a cruise speed of 100 knots, and can carry five passengers or 1,250 pounds of cargo plus a pilot, according to manufacturer Beta Technologies.
It will be tested for resupply missions, cargo delivery and personnel transport, the company said.
Beta will use its own pilots to fly the aircraft during the tests, the service statement said.
Ron Sheridan of the 96th Aircraft Maintenance Squadron, directs an Alia electric airplane to a stop at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Oct. 26, 2023. The plane will begin a series of test flights over the next few months. (Samuel King Jr./U.S. Air Force)
Beta Technologies’ electric Alia aircraft comes to a stop after arriving at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., Oct. 26, 2023. The aircraft will begin a series of test flights over the next few months with the 413th Flight Test Squadron and AFWERX’s Agility Prime at Duke Field. (Samuel King Jr./U.S. Air Force)
The U.S. military is the world’s largest institutional producer of greenhouse gases. Electric aircraft like the Alia, which produce zero operational emissions, are seen as a way of helping the Pentagon reduce its carbon footprint.
Beta spokeswoman Lexi Pace was unable to immediately provide the estimated amount of emissions involved with charging the aircraft when contacted by Stars and Stripes. However, the company recently opened a net-zero factory in Vermont where it will manufacture its aircraft, Pace said.
Other benefits of electric aircraft include reduced noise during flight and lower costs of operation and maintenance in comparison with their traditional counterparts, according to the Air Force.
The Alia being tested in Florida is a conventional electronic aircraft, meaning it cruises down a runway on takeoffs and landings. Electric vertical takeoff and landing, or eVTOL, aircraft are also being developed.
Last month, Edwards Air Force Base in California became the first U.S. military installation to have an eVTOL stationed on site when an S4 model built by Joby Aviation arrived there.
Beta’s Alia is the first electric CTOL stationed at a U.S. base.
Beta and Joby Aviation are among a group of companies under contract with the Air Force as part of the service’s Agility Prime program, which explores potential military applications for electric aircraft and is administered by AFWERX.
