Michigan Deploys More Than $40M to Accelerate Advanced Air Mobility, According to New State Report

DETROIT -- Today, the Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification (OFME)released the inaugural Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) annual report, highlighting considerable momentum toward its effort to build the nation's most comprehensive, equitable, and competitive aerial mobility ecosystem. The report finds that Michigan steered over $42 million in public and private sector investment toward AAM-related initiatives in 2025, attracting cutting-edge innovation to the state and laying the groundwork to support new opportunities for Michiganders.

"Air mobility is our opportunity to grow Michigan's economy, create good-paying jobs, and show the world that Michigan is the best place to build, innovate, and invest," said Governor Whitmer. "That's why, earlier this year, I signed an Executive Directive to help Michigan lead the future of aircraft, drones, and more. Today's report details the progress we've made steering over $42 million in public and private investment toward this work, creating jobs, training workers, and setting up test sites across Michigan. Let's keep working together to get it done."

Launched earlier this year, Governor Gretchen Whitmer's Executive Directive 2025-4tasks OFME with leading a coordinated, statewide effort to scale Michigan's AAM ecosystem. This inaugural report details the state's strategy and documents progress across six pillars: testing infrastructure, production capacity, public-sector and commercial deployment, workforce development, public engagement, and funding alignment.

Scaling Michigan's AAM Infrastructure and Testing Capabilities

Since the launch of Governor Whitmer's AAM Directive, OFME has successfully scaled Michigan's AAM infrastructure and testing capabilities across aviation, commercial, and defense assets. Today, there are nine active test sites - from the Michigan Unmanned Aerial Systems Consortium flight center at Alpena and the Detroit Smart Parking Lab in Detroit to the FLITE program at Gerald R. Ford International Airport. With BVLOS-capable airspace, turnkey testing, certification, and live-airport trial environments now in place, Michigan has established a robust foundation for scaling cargo, surveillance, inspection, and future passenger aviation use cases statewide.

Activating Production Capacity

OFME is accelerating Michigan's AAM manufacturing base through the Make It in Michigan Mobility Prototyping Grant Program-expanded in 2025 to a $2 million fund-and its partnership with the Centrepolis Accelerator. This support is enabling both established manufacturers and new entrants like Birdstop, which relocated its headquarters from Silicon Valley to Detroit, to scale production, strengthen supply chains, and grow UAS jobs across the state.

Driving Public-Sector Use and Commercial Market Growth

OFME is catalyzing AAM adoption through four high-impact deployments, including CVS Health's medical-delivery drone operation, Jack Demmer Automotive Group's rapid parts-delivery pilot, Munson Healthcare's medical-supply flights, and a blueflite-led search-and-rescue demonstration with Traverse Connect. The new AAM Statewide Mobility Challenges further accelerate integration by inviting five state agencies - Michigan State Police (MSP), Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), and Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development (MDARD) - to deploy drone-based solutions that strengthen public services and expand commercial market demand.

Developing and Expanding its AAM Workforce

OFME laid the groundwork for Michigan's AAM workforce strategy by conducting a statewide workforce needs assessment with 36 manufacturers. It identified strong near-term hiring demand and persistent gaps in engineering, skilled trades, and technical roles. These insights are informing new certification pathways and training partnerships across vocational schools, community colleges, and universities to equip Michigan workers with the skills needed to support a growing AAM industry.

Building Public Understanding of AAM Technologies

OFME strengthened public understanding and trust in AAM by elevating Michigan's drone ecosystem at major state and national events, driving increased earned media coverage and public visibility. Through presentations, industry showcases, and community-focused outreach, OFME and its partners effectively promoted the state's AAM strategy and highlighted the innovation already underway.

Align state resources to pursue diverse funding opportunities

OFME is aligning state resources to aggressively pursue diverse funding opportunities that accelerate its AAM Strategy, coordinating across U.S. Federal Aviation Authority (FAA), Economic Development Administration (EDA), and Department of Transportation (DOT) programs while tracking all AAM-related investments entering the state. This unified approach strengthens Michigan's competitiveness for federal, private, and philanthropic funding and supports the development of long-term revenue models that advance statewide AAM infrastructure and operations.

"Michigan is proving that advanced air mobility isn't a distant concept-it's happening here, right now," said Justine Johnson, Michigan's Chief Mobility Officer. "From expanding test sites to attracting new manufacturers and launching commercial deployments, we are building an ecosystem capable of leading the nation. This report shows how far we've come, and how committed we are to shaping a future where AAM strengthens our economy, our workforce, and our communities."

Looking ahead, OFME and Michigan's state partners will continue to identify opportunities to integrate AAM into critical public services and advance the workforce, infrastructure, and industry-support systems required to scale this emerging sector statewide.

About the Michigan Office of Future Mobility and Electrification (OFME)

The OFME works across state government, academia and private industry to enhance Michigan's mobility ecosystem, including developing dynamic mobility and electrification policies and supporting the startup and scale-up of emerging technologies and businesses. It is part of the Michigan Economic Development Corporation. Michigan's competitive advantages make the state a place where mobility solutions are born and where companies find long-term success and support. For more information, visit https://www.michiganbusiness.org/ofme/.

About Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC)

The Michigan Economic Development Corporation is the state's marketing arm and lead advocate for business development, job awareness and community development with the focus on growing Michigan's economy. For more information on the MEDC and our initiatives, visit www.MichiganBusiness.org. For Pure Michigan® tourism information, your trip begins at www.michigan.org. Join the conversation on: FacebookInstagramLinkedIn, and Twitter.