Bell Textron Inc. has announced that its Autonomous Pod Transport (APT) 70 has successfully completed its first autonomous flight at the company’s testing site near Fort Worth, Texas.

Throughout the rest of 2019, Bell plans to continue testing the vehicle under an experimental type certificate.

“We are excited to reach this milestone, and look forward to continuing to advance this technology for our customers,” says Scott Drennan, vice president, Innovation.

“The APT is designed to be capable of various mission sets, from package delivery to critical medical transport to disaster relief. We believe this capability will change the way unmanned aerial systems are used commercially in the future.”

A member of Bell’s electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) family of vehicles that the company is developing, the APT 70 can reach speeds of more than 100 miles per hour. The vehicle also has a baseline payload capability of 70 pounds.

According to Bell, its APT systems allow for “flexible mission capabilities while keeping operations simple, efficient and fast.” The vehicles can go twice as fast, and cover double the range, of a conventional multirotor. Bell adds that the vehicle is designed for “rapid deployment, quick reconfiguration, and nimble battery swap and recharge.”

Through the NASA Systems Integration and Operationalization (SIO) demonstration activity, Bell plans on demonstrating a simulated commercial mission in the national airspace system and conduct beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) flight operations using the APT 70. The demonstration is expected to be conducted in the middle of next year.

Bell notes that it is also working with Japanese third-party logistics provider Yamato to equip the APT 70 with Yamato’s package handling system, which will help provide an “exceptional customer experience” for on-demand logistics services, the company says. The companies conducted a demonstration on Aug. 26 that showcased their systems working together in preparation for entry into service, which is anticipated by the early-2020s.