The United States has never lacked aviation innovators. From the Wright brothers to modern commercial aviation, American aerospace leadership has been built on a remarkable combination of engineering excellence, entrepreneurial risk-taking, and public confidence in safety. Today, a new generation of technologies are poised to transform aviation once again. Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) aircraft, electric vertical takeoff (eVTOL) and landing systems, increasingly autonomous flight technologies, and novel propulsion concepts promise new capabilities for transportation, emergency response, cargo movement, and regional connectivity.
The challenge is not a lack of innovation. Rather, the challenge is ensuring that America’s certification system can efficiently evaluate increasingly novel aircraft and enabling technologies while preserving the world’s safest aviation system.
This issue sits squarely within AIAA’s 2026 Aviation Priority Issue on AAM and autonomous flight integration. The question facing policymakers is not whether safety standards should be maintained – they must be. The real question policymakers need to ask is whether certification processes developed to support historical aviation systems can continue to provide the transparency, predictability, and scalability needed to support new and emerging vehicles and technologies.
Recent reviews suggest that improvements may be needed. In 2023, the Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General found that the FAA faced challenges related to certification approaches, policy development, and communication as it worked to certify AAM aircraft. The report concluded that unresolved issues could affect the FAA’s ability to efficiently support the introduction of emerging aviation technologies and recommended additional agency actions.
Congress has also recognized the challenge. The FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 included numerous provisions focused on AAM integration, emerging aviation technologies, and FAA modernization. More recently, bipartisan legislation introduced as the Aviation Innovation and Global Competitiveness Act (which AIAA endorses) would seek to improve transparency and predictability within FAA certification processes for novel aircraft technologies. The legislation reflects a growing recognition that certification process modernization will play an important role in maintaining American aerospace leadership.
Innovation Requires Predictability
Aircraft certification is among the most rigorous regulatory processes in the world, and for very good reason. Public confidence in aviation depends on maintaining uncompromising safety standards.
At the same time, certification predictability is essential to innovation. Developing new aircraft often requires years of engineering effort, significant capital investment, extensive testing, and complex supply-chain coordination. Uncertainty regarding certification timelines, issue-paper development, compliance methodologies, or delegation practices can complicate planning and increase risk for manufacturers, suppliers, investors, and infrastructure providers.
Importantly, this challenge extends beyond AAM. As aerospace technologies become increasingly autonomous, electrified, software-intensive, and digitally integrated, the certification system will continue to encounter novel designs that do not fit neatly into traditional regulatory frameworks.
The question is therefore larger than any single aircraft category. It is whether the United States possesses a certification framework capable of adapting to continuous technological change and enabling continuous improvements in aviation safety, performance, and passenger experience.
The Global Competition Is Already Underway
Certification modernization is not simply a regulatory issue. It is increasingly a competitiveness issue. The FAA remains the global gold standard for aviation safety, and international regulators frequently look to FAA decisions when establishing their own certification frameworks. FAA leadership therefore influences not only domestic aviation but the future direction of global aerospace markets.
Recognizing this reality, FAA has expanded collaboration with international aviation authorities to align approaches for emerging technologies and AAM systems. These efforts acknowledge that certification frameworks developed today may shape the future global marketplace for decades.
Maintaining leadership will require more than technological breakthroughs. It will require regulatory systems and timely promulgation of safety standards and policies capable of evaluating and certifying innovation efficiently, consistently, and transparently while maintaining public trust.
A Workforce Challenge Hiding in Plain Sight
More importantly, certification modernization is also a workforce issue. As aerospace systems become more technologically sophisticated, the FAA must maintain access to engineers, technical specialists, flight-test experts, software specialists, and certification professionals capable of evaluating increasingly complex aircraft designs. Process improvements alone cannot solve certification challenges if workforce capacity does not keep pace with demand.
Congress and the Executive Branch should therefore view certification modernization and workforce development as complementary objectives. Investments in technical expertise, recruitment, retention, and workforce training are essential components of maintaining an effective certification enterprise.
A Practical Path Forward
The solution is not weaker regulation and nor is it a reduction in safety oversight. Instead, policymakers should focus on four practical objectives.
First, improve transparency throughout certification processes. Applicants should have greater visibility into entry criteria, milestones, review expectations, and decision-making pathways.
Second, expand the use of consensus standards where appropriate. Consensus standards have a long history of supporting aviation safety while creating efficient pathways for demonstrating compliance.
Third, strengthen FAA workforce capacity. Certification modernization ultimately depends upon maintaining sufficient technical expertise across the agency – for both the specific technical needs as well as to keep to predictable timelines.
Fourth, institutionalize lessons learned. As novel aircraft and technologies move through certification, recurring issues should be documented and incorporated into future guidance, reducing unnecessary duplication and improving consistency for future applicants.
Many of these concepts are already reflected in ongoing FAA initiatives, recommendations from oversight bodies, and recent congressional proposals. The opportunity now is to move from recognition to implementation.
America’s Next Aviation Era
The next great challenge in United States aviation leadership is enabling the efficient transition of systems and technologies from concept to operations.
Emerging aviation technologies are advancing rapidly. FAA is adapting. Congress has begun examining the issue. Independent oversight organizations have identified areas for improvement. And the industry continues investing in next-generation capabilities.
The next step is ensuring that certification systems evolve alongside technology.
Safety and innovation are not competing priorities. We need a transparent, predictable, and well-resourced certification framework that strengthens both.
America’s future leadership in AAM, autonomous flight, and next-generation aviation technologies will depend not only on what we invent, but on how effectively we bring those innovations safely into operation.
References
- DOT OIG, Regulatory Gaps and Lack of Consensus Hindered FAA’s Progress in Certifying Advanced Air Mobility Aircraft, and Challenges Remain (June 21, 2023).
- FAA Reauthorization Act of 2024 (Public Law 118-63).
- FAA, Advanced Air Mobility Implementation Plan. (July 2023)
- FAA, Roadmap for Advanced Air Mobility Aircraft Type Certification (April 2025).
- GAO, FAA Is Evaluating Designs for Certification and Considering Long-Term Regulatory Approaches (May 27, 2026)
- FAA international cooperation announcements on AAM certification.
- Aviation Innovation and Global Competitiveness Act one-pager and legislative text.
