The Federal Aviation Administration has chosen the Texas A&M University System to establish and operate its new Center for Advanced Aviation Technologies (CAAT), Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and Sen. Ted Cruz announced.
The center will focus on testing and integrating emerging aviation technologies, including drones and air taxis, into national airspace. It was created through the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024, authored by Cruz with specific language aimed at bringing the facility to the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
Texas A&M was selected from 28 proposals across multiple states due to its proximity to major international airports and an FAA regional headquarters, existing advanced aviation testing infrastructure and strong academic and industry partnerships.
Secretary Duffy highlighted Texas as an ideal location for the center, noting the state’s established leadership in commercial drone safety testing. The center intends to advance what Duffy described as an “aviation revolution” involving package delivery drones and air taxi technologies.
Cruz emphasized the center’s economic potential, stating it would help create thousands of high-paying jobs and generate billions in new investments for Texas.
North Texas already hosts an FAA-authorized test site where multiple companies conduct commercial drone delivery operations in shared airspace using Unmanned Aircraft System Traffic Management technology. Public safety operations are also permitted in this airspace.
The new center will include an airspace laboratory, flight demonstration zones and testing corridors as mandated by the FAA Reauthorization Act.
Image by Bernd Thomas from Pixabay
