Maintaining U.S. Leadership in Aviation Means Leaning in on Autonomy

On August 3rd, 2022, The White House held its first Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) summit – an event that brought together government, industry, and academic experts who are working to introduce the next era of aviation, the electric era – one that will be sustainable, equitable, and accessible.  Wisk was honored to be invited and was grateful to attend that historic event.  

The White House readout noted that the event built on the Administration’s “efforts to ensure that the United States maintains its global leadership in aviation, and furthers the Administration’s commitment to leveraging science and technology to enhance equity, combat climate change, boost the economy, and sustain America’s global standing.”  

Wisk is supportive of each of those efforts and believes that, in order to maintain U.S. global leadership in aviation, the United States government must now strongly lean in on aviation autonomy and swiftly work to establish clear pathways for its safe integration into the National Airspace System. The benefits of autonomy, including safety, accessibility, and jobs, will only be unlocked by a coordinated, clear and strong commitment from the Administration, the Department of Transportation, the Federal Aviation Administration, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, and other key stakeholders across the U.S. government.   

In order to accelerate the momentum that the White House event triggered, Wisk, along with dozens of industry stakeholders, signed onto a letter that was sent to President Biden. The letter calls for concrete direction in the form of an Executive Order or Presidential Memorandum declaring it the policy of the U.S. to lead the world in the safe development and deployment of uncrewed, autonomy-enabled, and eVTOL aircraft, and direct the development of a government-wide national strategy to strengthen U.S. competitiveness in advanced aviation.  

Wisk, and others, stand ready to work with the Administration and successfully implement a government-wide strategy - one that will ultimately achieve our mutual goal of U.S. global leadership in autonomous aviation. The White House AAM summit was a great first step but now is the time to lean in and work to usher in the next, electric era of aviation.