Reliable Robotics
Reliable Robotics, a Mountain View, California, company, builds an always-on autopilot that can taxi, take off, fly and land an aircraft, starting with the Cessna 208B Caravan.
Founded in 2017 with 51 to 200 staff, it has raised more than 160 million US dollars. Its system includes its own radar and the FAA's ACAS X detect-and-avoid logic and is designed to retrofit different aircraft. The FAA accepted its certification plan in 2023, and the company targets full certification in 2028.
It was selected for the FAA's Advanced Air Mobility Integration Pilot Program with the City of Albuquerque in March 2026, where its own cargo airline will fly autonomous routes. It also holds a 17.4 million US dollar US Air Force contract for pilotless logistics, and flew a Caravan fully autonomously in 2023.
No verified deployments yet
Reliable Robotics is profiled in the companies register, but no deployment has been verified against published evidence. Records are added as evidence is reviewed and graded.
Products & Solutions
2 productsReliable Autonomy System (RAS)
The Reliable Autonomy System (RAS) is a continuous-engagement aircraft automation platform that enables fully automated gate-to-gate operation of type-certified aircraft, including auto taxi, auto takeoff, en-route flight, and autoland. It is aircraft-agnostic and designed for both commercial cargo and military applications.
Addresses the leading causes of aviation accidents, controlled flight into terrain (CFIT) and loss of control in flight (LOC-I), by providing always-on automation across all flight phases. Also addresses pilot shortage and enables uncrewed cargo operations on underserved regional routes.
- Continuous autopilot engagement across all flight phases: taxi, takeoff, en-route, and landing
- Triple-redundant hardware and software for flight control surface and engine control automation
- Redundant voice and data networks for secure air-to-ground connectivity and ATC integration
- Electromechanically actuated brakes for gate-to-gate taxi control and runway excursion prevention
8 more features
- Comprehensive flight management system for remote supervision across planned and unplanned conditions
- Remote pilot station with redundant voice and data links for ATC integration
- Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) air-to-air radar
- ACAS-X (Advanced Collision Avoidance System X) integration
- Proprietary sensor fusion algorithms for high-integrity navigation (position, velocity, orientation)
- Aircraft-agnostic and airspace-agnostic design
- Dual-use: commercial and military applications
- No modifications required to existing airports or National Airspace System infrastructure
Technical specifications (7)
- Platform: Cessna 208B Grand Caravan (primary certified platform)
- Payload capacity supported: up to 3,000 lbs
- Automation scope: auto taxi, auto takeoff, en-route, autoland
- Redundancy: triple-redundant hardware and software
- Radar type: solid-state Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA)
- Collision avoidance: ACAS-X
- Connectivity: redundant voice and data links (air-to-ground)
- FAA military airworthiness approval, obtained January 2024
- FAA-accepted issue paper defining certification basis for the automated Cessna 208B Caravan
- FAA-accepted certification plans, means of compliance, and closed issue papers
- FAA flight test requirements established for auto taxi, auto takeoff, and autoland (first company to reach this milestone)
- FAA eIPP (Advanced Air Mobility Integration Pilot Program) selection, March 2026
- FAA Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) Detect and Avoid data collection contract completed, April 2026
- NASA Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate AI flight test contract
C2 Link System
The C2 Link System is a safety-critical command and control (C2) datalink platform for uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS). It provides redundant voice and data connectivity enabling remotely piloted aircraft to integrate into the National Airspace System (NAS) and existing airport and air traffic control infrastructure.
Enables secure, reliable air-to-ground communications for remotely piloted aircraft operating in controlled airspace, supporting real-time ATC integration and remote pilot command authority.
- Safety-critical UAS datalinks for command and control
- Enables integration of remotely piloted aircraft into the NAS
- Redundant voice and data networks
- Supports airspace integration with Air Traffic Control
1 more feature
- Remote radio management capability
Technical specifications (2)
- Redundant air-to-ground voice and data communications
- Designed for compliance with NAS and ATC integration requirements
- Certification advancement through industry collaboration, standards development, and flight testing (in progress as of April 2026)
Register notes
Notes held in the Aerostack register. Aerostack has not independently verified them.
Reliable Robotics is focused on retrofitting existing certified aircraft (primarily the Cessna Caravan) with autonomous flight systems, targeting cargo operators facing a structural pilot shortage.
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This retrofit approach is lower risk than building new aircraft from scratch and allows earlier revenue.
Key competitors are Merlin Labs (similar approach, also targeting military) and Xwing (autonomy division acquired by Joby in 2024).
The US Air Force contracts represent a significant validation and revenue source.
The FAA certification pathway for autonomous cargo aircraft is active but timeline-uncertain; Reliable's certification-forward approach (pursuing full FAA approval rather than experimental certificates) is a differentiator.
Profile data from the Aerostack companies register; deployment records from the verified register. Evidence grades: T1 first-party confirmation, T2 credible reporting. See Our approach for how records are graded.