SyberJet Aircraft opened its order book on the eve of NBAA-BACE in Las Vegas, where it planned to show a complete mockup of its new SJ36 light jet, laid out the production schedule for the SJ34, and introduced a proprietary avionics system developed in-house, according to Aviation Week.
The SJ36 is a stretched, nine-seat derivative of the Sino Swearingen SJ30. SyberJet says the single-pilot jet is designed for a range above 3,000 nm, a top speed of Mach 0.88, a sea-level cabin altitude up to 41,000 ft. and a maximum operating altitude of 49,000 ft.
The mockup at Henderson Executive Airport includes a finished interior with full seating, avionics displays, lighting, cabin systems and audio equipment, plus an exterior showing the fuselage, tail, wings and landing gear. First deliveries are projected for 2032.
SyberJet also said the seven-seat SJ34 will succeed the FAA-certified SJ30-2. The SJ34 will carry the new SyberVision avionics, larger Williams FJ44-3 or FJ44-4 engines and an interior styled like the SJ36's. It is expected to cruise at up to Mach 0.83 with a range of up to 2,500 nm, with deliveries projected to begin in 2029.
Why it matters
The SJ30 program has a long record of stalled production. Aviation Week data shows nine aircraft were built and four delivered, the last in 2006, as manufacturing halted through successive ownership changes at Sino Swearingen and Ernivest Aviation. SyberJet was formed in 2011, when Metalcraft Technologies bought the program's assets.
In 2024, an investment group led by Nikola founder Trevor Milton acquired the company. SyberJet now owns all but one of the aircraft, according to Aviation Week.
Milton's own history has been turbulent. The founder and former CEO of Nikola, which makes electric and hydrogen-powered trucks, was convicted in 2022 of securities and wire fraud and sentenced to four years in prison. He appealed, received a pardon from U.S. President Donald Trump, and in September 2025 the Securities and Exchange Commission dropped its case. During that period he moved into aviation and became rated in helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.
Milton describes the SJ30-2 as the most remarkable light jet ever built, but one that never reached the market. He acknowledges skepticism about reviving it. "That's actually warranted," he said, adding that the remedy is to exceed expectations. "We will overdeliver beyond anyone's imagination," he said, according to Aviation Week.
He also conceded the odds. "There is no guarantee," Milton said. "Aviation is hard. Complicated. Is affected by market dynamics and other regulations. The likelihood of failure is higher than the likelihood of success." He said many capable people before him had failed and that aerospace is extraordinarily difficult, but argued customers want advanced technology and that SyberJet aims to push the industry to change.
A six-screen cockpit and an AI copilot
The centerpiece of the reveal is SyberJet's own avionics, a break from the usual practice of sourcing systems from suppliers such as Garmin or Honeywell. The suite has six 4K touchscreens, each fully redundant, so any one display can take over another's functions. That differs from competing systems, where screens are certified only for specific roles.
"You could have a failure on four of them, and you could still fly your plane with every feature known in our system," Milton said.
The demonstrator at NBAA runs on production code rather than a demonstration build, representing tens of millions of lines of software that the company says is nearing flight readiness. SyberJet's internal target is to begin flight testing within 12 months.
The most ambitious element is Syber Pilot, an AI-based assistant built into the avionics. SyberJet intends it eventually to win full FAA type certification as an autonomous pilot able to handle an entire flight, from obtaining clearance and taxiing through departure, en route navigation, arrival, landing and shutdown.
Milton drew a distinction with Garmin's Autoland, which handles emergency landings only. "Autoland is maybe 5% of what this does," he said, noting that it does not manage clearances, taxiing or wider flight operations.
In its initial form at the show, Syber Pilot reads live air traffic control communications and Controller-Pilot Data Link Communications data, interprets instructions such as altitude restrictions, speed assignments and arrival procedures, and loads them into the flight plan at the press of a single button. A smart taxi feature applies similar processing to ground instructions.
Milton framed the long-term goal in broad terms: customers ordering a jet for a city pair, boarding with no pilot aboard, and the aircraft handling everything. He said that is where aviation is heading regardless of preference.
Cabin and fuel burn
The SJ36 interior was designed with Bond Design Group, which is run by Milton's wife, Chelsey. It includes 38 speakers, two subwoofers, high-speed satellite internet and virtual reality capability for inflight entertainment. A revised layout places the lavatory in the center, which allows two oversized rear seats that fold into a near-full-size bed. SyberJet also cited a cruise fuel burn of roughly 112 gal per hour, according to Aviation Week.
Watch whether SyberJet meets its stated goal of flying the avionics within a year, and whether the 2029 SJ34 and 2032 SJ36 delivery targets hold as the program moves from mockup to certification.
