SyberJet Opens SJ36 Reservations, Targets 2032 FAA Certification

SyberJet opened reservations for its SJ36 light jet on October 19, 2026, and set a target of 2032 for FAA certification and first customer deliveries — a date that sits six years out and depends on a program that has produced only a handful of delivered aircraft in four decades. The company unveiled a full-scale mockup at Henderson Executive Airport (HSH) near Las Vegas, on the eve of NBAA-BACE 2026.

The evening event also introduced the SJ34, an updated version of the SJ30-2, and SyberVision, an in-house avionics suite still in research and development. Both programs run under CEO Trevor Milton, founder and former chief executive of truck maker Nikola.

Who is leading this?

Milton's record invites scrutiny. A court convicted him of securities and wire fraud in 2022 over claims about Nikola's technology, and a judge sentenced him to four years in prison in 2023. Donald Trump granted him a presidential pardon in March 2025.

Milton addressed the Nikola controversy during his presentation. He noted Nikola trucks had transported equipment to Las Vegas for the event. What he did not offer, by the available record, is third-party verification of the SJ36's performance claims, a firm development budget, or an order book. The program's credibility therefore rests on engineering milestones that have not yet been set, let alone met.

What are the claimed numbers?

The SJ36 is a stretched development of the SJ30-2, laid out for one pilot and eight passengers. SyberJet's targets:

• Maximum operating speed of Mach 0.88
• Range up to 3,000 nautical miles
• Maximum operating altitude of 49,000 feet
• Sea-level cabin pressure up to 41,000 feet
• Two Williams International FJ44-4A turbofans with combined projected takeoff thrust of 7,242 pounds

Every one of these figures is projected. The company itself says they remain subject to development and certification. The published cabin design includes a main cabin of roughly 16 feet and wider rear passenger seats.

The smaller SJ34 keeps the SJ30-2's basic configuration for one pilot and six passengers, with projected speeds up to Mach 0.83, range up to 2,500 nautical miles, and updated propulsion, avionics and cabin features. SyberJet is accepting expressions of interest for the SJ34 alongside SJ36 reservations.

What does SyberVision change for pilots?

For now, nothing. The system exists as a development program, not a certified product. SyberJet plans a flight deck built around six high-definition touchscreens, an integrated flight management system, autopilot and autothrottle. The company also plans fly-by-wire flight controls and over-the-air software updates for the SJ36.

The stated goal is single-pilot simplicity through jointly developed avionics and automation. SyberVision remains in research and development, and its features could change during certification. Fly-by-wire, in particular, carries a certification burden that light-jet programs have historically treated as optional rather than core.

A program with a long memory

The SJ36 traces its roots to designer Ed Swearingen's SJ30 program, launched in the late 1980s to pair high speed with transcontinental range in a small airframe. The SJ30-2 won FAA certification under Sino Swearingen in October 2005, with deliveries from 2006.

Only a handful of aircraft reached customers. Ownership changes and production interruptions stalled the program repeatedly. Metalcraft Technologies bought the assets in 2011 and created SyberJet Aircraft. A new investment group acquired the company in 2024 and installed Milton to develop the SJ34 and stretched SJ36.

That history matters for any buyer weighing a reservation today. The design has been certified, which separates it from paper-only clean-sheet projects — but it has never sustained serial production, and no SJ36 hardware beyond a mockup and a stated powerplant selection has been shown.

What happens next

SyberJet's 2032 certification target now meets an FAA certification process that will test each projected figure — speed, range, cabin pressure, fly-by-wire handling — against demonstrated hardware, and whether reservations convert into a backlog will be the first measurable signal of whether this revival differs from the program's previous four decades.