Unmanned Aerial Vehicles
Beta and Near Earth Autonomy Partner on Uncrewed Alia Aircraft
Autonomous, hybrid-electric Alia MV250 flight tests slated for first half of 2026
Beta Technologies N250XT
© Beta Technologies

Beta Technologies has enlisted Near Earth Autonomy to help bring autonomous flight capabilities to its Alia family of electric and hybrid-electric aircraft.  While Beta remains focused on certifying its piloted, six-seat Alia CX300 electric airplane and the Alia 250 eVTOL model for commercial operations, the company recently revealed it has also been developing an uncrewed, hybrid-electric version dubbed the Alia MV250 for defense applications. 

The Vermont-based electric aviation company said in a November 20 statement that it “has been developing and flying autonomous capabilities for the past several years, conducting more than 1,000 hours of uncrewed flights on a fleet of subscale aircraft with a demonstrated range of more than 158 nautical miles on a single charge.”