Joby Aviation announced a $500 million acquisition of Resonant Sciences, a Dayton, Ohio-based defense technology company, according to The Verge. Joby expects to fund the transaction with $450 million in cash and $50 million in equity, and the deal is expected to close in early 2027. The acquisition would give Joby a larger dedicated defense operation at a time when electric vertical takeoff and landing companies are looking beyond urban air taxi service for revenue. The Verge reports that, after the deal closes, Resonant will continue its existing work as Joby’s dedicated defense division. Joby’s commercial division will remain focused on air taxis, with its first launches expected later this year, according to the report. Resonant Sciences was founded in 2015 and employs about 250 people, The Verge reports. The company develops systems that help aircraft sense, communicate, and operate in difficult environments, including warzones. Its work spans sensors, antennas, signal processing, secure communications, protection against interference, and low-observability technology designed to make aircraft harder to detect. The Verge says Resonant’s products are already qualified across more than 20 commercial and defense airframes. Many of its employees also hold military clearances because of the classified nature of the work. For Joby, that makes the acquisition not only a technology purchase but also a way to absorb defense-program know-how that would be difficult to build quickly from scratch. Joby says it plans to combine its propulsion and autonomy technology with Resonant’s radio-frequency, sensing, and mission-systems capabilities, according to The Verge. The company also says it intends to design and build stealth aircraft using the newly acquired systems. Those plans remain tied to a deal that has not yet closed. The transaction fits a longer defense arc for Joby. The Verge notes that Joby participated in a Department of Defense Defense Innovation Unit project in 2016, became the first eVTOL developer to secure U.S. Air Force airworthiness approval and a flight clearance certificate for government-led testing in 2020, and delivered its first aircraft to Edwards Air Force Base in 2023. The financial backdrop is important. Electric aircraft developers still face high costs and delayed regulatory approvals in many markets, which has pushed commercial air taxi revenue further out. The Verge reports that Joby posted a net loss of $245.4 million in the second quarter of 2026 on $38.6 million in revenue. That makes defense work increasingly relevant to the sector’s business model. The Verge also notes that Archer Aviation, one of Joby’s rivals, recently unveiled a new aircraft co-developed with defense technology company Anduril. The common thread is that military programs are becoming a parallel market for eVTOL developers while the consumer-facing air taxi market remains in the approval and launch phase. Who benefits: Joby would gain Resonant’s defense technology, cleared workforce, and airframe-qualified systems if the deal closes. Resonant would become part of a larger aviation company with existing military ties. Who's exposed: Joby shareholders are exposed to the $450 million cash component, integration risk, and the company’s continuing losses. The commercial air taxi business remains dependent on approvals and launches that The Verge reports are still not fully in place in most markets.