DOT Unveils New Strategy for Drones, Electric Aircraft

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), alongside 19 agencies, unveiled the Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) National Strategy on December 17, 2025. This roadmap accelerates the integration of drones and electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOLs) into the national airspace for passenger and cargo transport in urban and rural areas.

Key goals include modernizing airspace management, building vertiports, enhancing safety, developing a skilled workforce, and fostering government-industry partnerships. It emphasizes U.S. leadership in aviation innovation, with initiatives like a Texas testing center.

From Spectrum News: 

“We all recognize aviation is changing and changing very quickly,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Wednesday, which marks the 122nd anniversary of the Wright Brothers’ first flight.

“The question becomes: Are we going to continue to lead in aviation?” he added. 

Advanced Air Mobility is a catchall term for a variety of new aircraft that operate below 5,000 feet, unlike commercial airplanes that typically fly at much higher altitudes. Generally small in size and electric, they can be used to carry people and packages in both rural and urban areas but require a modernization of the airspace to manage traditional aircraft and new devices at the same time.

On Wednesday, Duffy said advanced air mobility vehicles had the potential to transform how the flying public travels, how communities access healthcare, how businesses deliver packages and how the country as a whole defends itself.

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