{"id":34476,"date":"2026-03-09T20:41:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:41:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/?p=34476"},"modified":"2026-03-09T20:41:17","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T20:41:17","slug":"faa-unveils-eight-selections-for-pilot-program-testing-next-gen-aircraft-in-americas-skies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/national-news\/faa-unveils-eight-selections-for-pilot-program-testing-next-gen-aircraft-in-americas-skies\/%20","title":{"rendered":"FAA Unveils Eight Selections for Pilot Program Testing Next-Gen Aircraft in America\u2019s Skies"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today announced eight proposals were selected as part of the brand-new Advanced Air Mobility and Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) Integration Pilot Program (eIPP). eVTOLs are futuristic aircraft that have the potential to generate new jobs, connect communities, and strengthen American leadership in aviation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This first-of-its-kind program, which was outlined in President Trump\u2019s Unleashing Drone Dominance Executive Order, is accelerating the safe integration of next-generation Advanced Air Mobility aircraft into the national airspace and ensuring the United States leads the way in aviation innovation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.transportation.gov\/briefing-room\/future-aviation-here-trumps-transportation-secretary-sean-p-duffy-and-faa-unveil\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/www.transportation.gov\/briefing-room\/future-aviation-here-trumps-transportation-secretary-sean-p-duffy-and-faa-unveil\">Click to watch the announcement video<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Together, these pilot projects will create one of the largest real-world testing environments for next-generation aircraft in the world. In addition to offering the American people an exciting window into the future of aviation, data from the pilot projects will be used by the FAA to develop new regulations that safely enable this futuristic technology at scale. The American public will start to see operations begin under this program by summer 2026.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The eight selected projects span 26 states and involve leading aircraft manufacturers, operators, and state partners. They include a range of operational concepts, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Urban air taxi services<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Regional passenger transportation (including short Takeoff and Landing aircraft)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Cargo and logistics networks<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Emergency medical response operations<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Autonomous flight technologies<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Offshore and energy-sector transportation<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThanks to President Trump, the future of aviation is here \u2014 and it\u2019s going to dramatically improve how people and products move,\u201d said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. \u201cCongratulations to the great American innovators behind each of these exciting pilot programs. Working together, we will ensure America leads the way in safely leveraging next-gen aircraft to radically redefine personal travel, regional transportation, cargo logistics, emergency medicine, and so much more.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThese partnerships will help us better understand how to safely and efficiently integrate these aircraft into the National Airspace System,\u201d said FAA Deputy Administrator Chris Rocheleau. \u201cThe program will provide valuable operational experience that will inform the standards needed to enable safe Advanced Air Mobility operations. We appreciate the strong interest reflected in the many proposals we received.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Specifics on Selected Projects<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The following projects were selected to participate in the eVTOL Integration Pilot Program:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Port Authority of New York and New Jersey<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Multiple industry partners will collaborate on 12 different operational concepts across New England, including eVTOL passenger operations at the Manhattan heliport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Partners: Archer, BETA, Electra, Joby<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Texas Department of Transportation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Industry partners will support regional flights connecting Dallas, Austin, San Antonio, and eventually Houston, with air taxi networks expanding from each city to extend regional reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Partners: Archer, BETA, Joby, Wisk<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Utah Department of Transportation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Four states spanning the Pacific Northwest, the Rocky Mountains, and the Plains of Oklahoma will test a wide range of next-generation aircraft and operational concepts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Partners: Ampaire, BETA, Joby, Other<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Pennsylvania Department of Transportation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The NASAO AAM Multistate Collaborative will work across 13 states to revitalize regional flights across the country, including routes similar to those supported through the Essential Air Service program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Partners: BETA, Electra, Other<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Louisiana<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Operations will test cargo and personnel transportation capabilities to enable flights over the high seas into the Gulf of America and to energy industry locations in Louisiana, Texas, and Mississippi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Partners: BETA, Elroy Air, Other<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Florida Department of Transportation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A statewide effort featuring multiple industry partners will include three phases of operations focused on cargo delivery, passenger transportation, automation, and medical response, supported by significant public and private investment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Partners: Archer, BETA, Electra, Joby, Other<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>North Carolina Department of Transportation<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Working with industry partners to establish piloted medical and regional operations across the state while also developing an autonomous flight operation extending into Virginia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Partners: BETA, Joby, Other<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>City of Albuquerque<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A focused project designed to achieve early advances in autonomous operations through an existing partnership with an advanced autonomy developer already operating in the region and coordinating with the FAA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Partner: Reliable Robotics<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Background<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The Advanced Air Mobility and eVTOL Integration Pilot Program (e-IPP) received more than 30 proposals from across the country. Submissions were evaluated by a technical review team from DOT and FAA.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Proposals were assessed based on their ability to accelerate the integration of Advanced Air Mobility aircraft, the breadth of operational concepts proposed, potential regulatory and policy insights, experience in aircraft development or manufacturing, and the strength of industry, academic, and government partnerships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Following this review process, the eight projects listed above were selected to advance the next phase of the program.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today announced eight proposals were selected as part of the brand-new Advanced Air Mobility and Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) Integration Pilot Program (eIPP). eVTOLs are futuristic aircraft that have the potential to generate new jobs, connect communities, and strengthen American leadership [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[142,140,115],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-34476","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aam-uam","category-evtol","category-national-news"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34476","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34476"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34476\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":34477,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34476\/revisions\/34477"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34476"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34476"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateaviationjournal.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34476"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}