On September 12, 2025, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced a new pilot program within the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to speed up the rollout of advanced air mobility (AAM) vehicles. The action follows President Trump’s June 2025 executive order to unleash American drone dominance.
The pilot program, called the Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL) and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Integration Pilot Program (eIPP), will form public-private partnerships between State and local government entities and private companies to develop new frameworks and regulations for enabling safe operations of AAM vehicles. The program will allow companies to test limited operations of vehicles such as electric air taxis before they are formally certified by the FAA. These projects are expected to deliver data to inform the broader regulatory frameworks that will support and oversee the AAM sector.
Projects are expected to include piloted and unmanned approaches to:
- Short-range urban air taxis
- Longer-range, fixed wing flights
- Novel cargo services
- Air and emergency management services, such as servicing offshore energy facilities and improving medical transport
The FAA is looking for participants for the partnership program to demonstrate the viability of new AAM technologies.
Archer Aviation has announced its intention to participate in the program. Archer Aviation plans to partner with U.S. airlines, including United Airlines, and interested cities to design and execute trial operations of Archer’s Midnight aircraft. The trials are expected to demonstrate that electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) operations are safe, quiet, and scalable to build community trust and support.
“The next great technological revolution in aviation is here. The United States will lead the way, and doing so will cement America’s status as a global leader in transportation innovation,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “That means more high-paying manufacturing jobs and economic opportunity. By safely testing the deployment of these futuristic air taxis and other AAM vehicles, we can fundamentally improve how the traveling public and products move.”
Meanwhile, earlier this year, Chinese aviation firm AutoFlight announced that its CarryAll aircraft is the world’s first eVTOL over one ton to achieve complete airworthiness certification from a civil aviation authority.
The FAA’s new pilot program could help the U.S. keep pace with global competitors, while creating standards for safe, scalable, and transformative advanced air mobility (AAM) vehicles.
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