Reliable Robotics Targets Pilotless Cargo Flights in New Mexico Next Year

Reliable Robotics, an autonomous aviation startup with more than $400 million raised, plans to begin point-to-point pilotless cargo flights between Albuquerque and Santa Fe as early as next year. CEO Robert Rose laid out the timeline in an interview at the Up Summit, saying the FAA has already signed off on the company's certification roadmap for aircraft that fly with no pilot on board.

The company, founded by former SpaceX software engineer Rose, is modifying Cessna Caravans — a workhorse of small air freight — with its own flight computers, actuators and sensors under a supplemental type certificate. The initial commercial target is scheduled cargo runs between Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Durango, New Mexico.

Last month the company completed its first series of demonstration flights at Albuquerque Sunport under the FAA's eVTOL Integrated Pilot Program. The aircraft taxied among commercial air traffic and flew instrument approaches. The next phase, expected to start next year, moves to point-to-point flights between Albuquerque and Santa Fe, eventually with nobody aboard.

How does the autonomy actually work?

The core product is a ground control station built around an off-the-shelf flight management system. An operator programs a route on a touchscreen, uploads it to the aircraft, and the plane executes the plan on its own. The system physically cannot be commanded to fly into terrain or obstacles, and every flight plan must end at a runway parking spot.

The most striking design choice: there is no manual override.

"There's no AP disconnect button. There's no remote yoke or joystick or rudder pedals or anything like that," Rose said.

A remote pilot stays in the loop mainly for airspace integration — talking to air traffic control. If communications drop, the aircraft operates fully autonomously, following lost-comm IFR procedures and executing automated collision avoidance. Onboard radar covers 220 degrees around the aircraft plus 40 degrees up and down, running an algorithm called ACAS X for evasive maneuvers. Rose noted Congress is considering legislation to mandate ACAS X across the commercial fleet, starting with Part 121 carriers and eventually extending to general aviation.

What did the FAA approval take?

Rose said the company spent its first six or seven years working with the FAA to define a certification path for autonomous aircraft without an onboard pilot.

"The plans are signed off," he said. "We just need to actually build and deliver the system that is described by these approvals."

Despite the size of the raise, Rose described the business as relatively asset-light. Reliable Robotics modifies existing airframes rather than building new ones, directing most of its spending at safety analysis, software engineering and avionics.

Will pilot unions push back?

On pilot union resistance — a recurring obstacle for aviation automation — Rose was measured. Reliable Robotics operates Part 23 aircraft under Part 135 rules, well outside the scope of major airline labor agreements. He argued automation will roll out incrementally, starting with safety-enhancing features such as automated takeoff, landing and taxiing, before any broader debate over cockpit crew numbers.

"I think it's going to take many years," he said. "That's a ways away."

Why it matters for freight

For regional air cargo operators, the math is straightforward. Caravans flying scheduled New Mexico lanes without an onboard pilot remove a recurring crew cost and open thinner routes that struggle to justify a human crew. Forwarders serving small and mid-size markets in the Mountain West could see the first tangible pilotless capacity within roughly a year, pending the next demonstration phase running to plan.