FutureFlight
Boeing Bets Big on eVTOLs, with $450 Million Funding for Wisk Aero
The aerospace and defense group says it is taking a long-term approach to the advanced air mobility sector, opting to back Wisk's plan for fully autonomous eVTOL air taxi services.
Wisk Cora eVTOL
Wisk will not say how its proposed sixth-generation eVTOL aircraft will compare with the current fifth-generation Cora two-seat prototype shown here. (Image: Wisk Aero)

Boeing is investing a further $450 million in its Wisk Aero eVTOL joint venture with Kitty Hawk. This morning, Wisk stated that the funding will support efforts to certify what it described as its sixth-generation fully autonomous eVTOL design, which is set to replace the fifth-generation Cora two-seater prototype that the company says has now logged almost 1,500 flight tests.

In a January 24 media briefing, Wisk and Boeing declined to provide any performance details or specifications for the new eVTOL, indicating that further announcements will be made later in 2022. They have also refused to publish a projected timeline for type certification, insisting that they don’t want to prejudge how long regulators will take to declare the aircraft and its proposed autonomous flight operating model to be safe.