BAE to explore military version of Embraer’s eve flying taxi

U.K. defense giant BAE Systems Plc has joined forces with Embraer SA to explore the potential for developing a military version of the Brazilian planemaker’s Eve flying taxi.

The study will weigh the viability of using the electric vertical take-off and landing craft in roles such as surveillance and transporting military personnel, as well as performing disaster-relief and humanitarian missions, London-based BAE said in a statement Tuesday.

EVTOL developers are carving out niches for their models as the technology nears maturity following significant cash injections and increasing interest from the wider aviation industry. Embraer’s Eve has amassed more than 1,700 orders from 17 launch customers and earlier announced that it will go public via a $2.4 billion reverse merger with a special purpose acquisition company.

BAE has agreed to invest $10 million in the Eve militarization project and will work on a joint study bringing together engineers from its warplane plants in Lancashire, England, and a team from Embraer’s base in Sao Jose dos Campos.

Eve Urban Air Mobility’s merger with Zanite Acquisition Corp. will take place next year.

The transaction includes $237 million from Zanite and a $305 million private investment in public equity, or PIPE, with $175 million from Embraer and $105 million from a consortium featuring BAE, engine maker Rolls-Royce Holdings Plc and U.S. regional airlines Republic Airways and SkyWest Inc.

Embraer will retain an 80% equity stake following the transaction, on which Bloomberg first reported in June.

Other eVTOL companies including Joby Aviation, Lilium GmbH and Archer Aviation have gone public through SPAC mergers in 2021.