Utah News Dispatch
Federal government taps Utah to test new electric flight technologies
The Capitol and downtown Salt Lake City are pictured at dusk on Monday, Nov. 10, 2025. (Photo by Spenser Heaps for Utah News Dispatch)
Utah is among eight states the federal government has selected to test the future of electric aircraft and other aviation technologies, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced on Monday.
The state is poised to be part of a three-year pilot program on Electric Vertical Takeoff and Landing (eVTOL), meant to safely integrate highly automated aircraft into the national airspace with planes that use electric propulsion and can take off and land vertically, according to the Utah Department of Transportation.
The state will lead a partnership with Oregon, Idaho, Arizona and Oklahoma, along with industry leaders “to test new aviation technologies and gather data.”
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“This partnership puts Utah at the forefront of the next generation of aviation technology while creating new opportunities for economic growth, research and workforce development across our state,” Gov. Spencer Cox said in a statement.
The program is part of an executive order President Donald Trump signed last year “unleashing American drone dominance,” which mandated his cabinet to accelerate technologies like eVTOL aircraft since they “promise to modernize methods for cargo delivery, passenger transport, and other advanced air mobility capabilities.”
“Congratulations to the great American innovators behind each of these exciting pilot programs,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a news release. “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.”
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The eVTOL testing will take place in different environments across the West, including urban and rural areas, mountainous terrain and wildfire-prone regions, UDOT said in a news release. But that’s not an entirely untapped market for Utah. The state has already tested advanced aviation technologies, operating mobile command centers “that allow crews to connect aircraft systems, monitor live video and flight data, and coordinate testing operations from the field.”
“The project could also support future transportation planning as Utah prepares to host the 2034 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, where emerging aviation technologies could assist with logistics, emergency response and regional mobility,” the department said in the release.
