Joby Aviation to Acquire Resonant Sciences To Expand Its Defense Business
JoeBen Bevirt and Micah North at Resonant Sciences, Dayton, Ohio, August 2026. (Credit: Joby Aviation)
Joby Aviation has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Resonant Sciences, a Dayton, Ohio based defense technology company, for roughly $500 million. The deal marks a major step forward for Joby's defense business, adding scale through a profitable, fast growing company already supporting active U.S. national security programs.
Who Resonant Is
Founded in 2015, Resonant employs about 250 people, more than 90% of whom hold security clearances. The company designs and delivers advanced radio frequency and mission systems for U.S. national security customers, ranging from next-generation antennas and radomes to electronic countermeasures.
Resonant is also recognized as a global leader in low-observability design. Its electronics, apertures, and radomes are qualified across more than 20 commercial and defense airframes, and the company handles full payload integration and aircraft modification for its customers, which include the U.S. Government and major prime contractors.
Strong Financial Momentum
Resonant's growth has been substantial. Trailing 12-month revenue topped $100 million, up roughly 40% year over year, while the company has maintained high-teens adjusted EBITDA margins that are expected to climb further as production ramps up.
Demand has only accelerated. In the first half of 2026, bookings came in at more than three times the volume seen in the same period of 2025, and backlog more than doubled year over year.
What This Means for Joby
Once the deal closes, Resonant will become Joby's dedicated defense unit, continuing to operate under its own name and led by co-founder and CEO J. Micah North. Joby's existing defense work, including its dual-use turbine-electric and hydrogen-electric aircraft programs and its autonomy technology stack, will be folded into this new unit. That structure lets Joby's commercial team stay focused on certifying and scaling its electric air taxi.
One early area of focus will be combining Joby's autonomy technology with Resonant's RF sensing and signal-processing expertise to push forward software-defined autonomous systems for defense customers.
Joby founder and CEO JoeBen Bevirt pointed to the shared technical culture between the two teams as a key reason the deal makes sense, citing years of collaboration and a common approach to solving hard engineering problems from the ground up.
Building Out Dayton
Resonant currently operates around 105,000 square feet of space across seven buildings in the Dayton area, with another 125,000-square-foot facility under construction that will more than double its footprint. Combined with Joby's own 768,000 square feet in Ohio, the merged campus will give the two companies close to 1 million square feet of manufacturing, integration, and testing space in the region, reinforcing Dayton's position as a hub for aerospace and defense work.
Deal Terms and Timing
The transaction is expected to close in the first half of 2027, pending regulatory review and other standard closing conditions. Joby plans to fund the acquisition with about $450 million in cash and $50 million in Joby common stock, with the share price for that portion fixed at signing. Some Resonant employee shareholders will receive part of their payout in Joby stock, keeping a stake in the combined company going forward.
