Joby Aviation and defense manufacturing giant L3Harris announced a partnership Friday to develop a next-generation military craft that can be piloted or fly autonomously.

The partnership brings together Joby’s hybrid vertical take-off and landing, or VTOL, aircraft and L3’s expertise in military systems and certification.

The companies expect to begin testing this fall, followed by operational demonstrations in 2026, according to the release.

“Conflicts like Russia, Ukraine, are really changing how people think about, you know, low altitude aviation generally, getting something out there that can move very quickly from demonstration to deployability felt especially important,” Joby executive chairman Paul Sciarra told CNBC’s Morgan Brennan.

The announcement comes as government spending is under scrutiny and the U.S. military works to bolster the technology in battlefield operations, adding artificial intelligence with autonomous vehicles and drones.

“I think the branches are questioning whether or not you know the right approach for low altitude support is, you know, $30 million crude Apaches, or whether or not it’s something that is smaller, cheaper and autonomous — it has the ability to adapt to flexible payloads,” Sciarra said.

Joby is known for its commercial air taxis, which are electric. This military vehicle will be developed with a gas turbine, according to the release.