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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy visited sa国际传媒官网网页入口 on Wednesday to highlight a pilot program for next-generation aircraft that will put pilots on the ground instead of in the cockpit 鈥� part of a broader push to modernize American aviation.

Through President Donald Trump鈥檚 鈥淥ne Big Beautiful Bill,鈥� $12.5 billion will go toward overhauling the U.S. aviation system.

With the Kansas-built Cessna 208 Caravan 鈥� the aircraft slated for testing 鈥� looming above him while he spoke at the 鈥淔uture of Flight鈥� podium, Duffy emphasized the need for updated aviation technology.

鈥淲e鈥檙e putting out new software to better manage the airspace to make it more efficient and also make it safer,鈥� Duffy said. 鈥淭he new technology that is coming online can鈥檛 happen unless we have a system that is ready for it to be deployed.鈥�

The Advanced Air Mobility Integration Pilot Program, outlined in an executive order signed by Trump, spans 26 states. New Mexico is one of the highlighted lead states in the program.

Under the umbrella of funded projects are urban air taxis, regional passenger transportation, cargo, emergency medical response, energy-sector transportation and autonomous flight.

Reliable Robotics is one of the companies chosen by the U.S. Department of Transportation to test autonomous cargo flights at the sa国际传媒官网网页入口 International Sunport, facilitating testing through its sa国际传媒官网网页入口-based subsidiary, Reliable Airlines.

sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Economic Development Director Max Gruner said the New Mexico location was no accident.

鈥淚t belongs to places that connect ports to markets, markets to consumers, and consumers to jobs,鈥� Gruner said of the next economic era. 鈥淚t belongs to the state of New Mexico, and it belongs to sa国际传媒官网网页入口.鈥� He also said the city鈥檚 altitude, climate extremes and character are precisely the conditions needed to test, refine and lead the world in autonomous mobility.

The company partnered with the city of sa国际传媒官网网页入口鈥檚 Aviation Department to apply for the program, helping secure the spot in March. Brian Boyd, the department鈥檚 deputy director of operations, said the roughly three-year program is on track to begin in late summer, with pending planning, logistics and other groundwork still underway.

Central to that effort is a groundbreaking automation system Reliable Robotics is developing with the Federal Aviation Administration, or FAA, designed to control aircraft through all phases of flight, including taxi, takeoff and landing, enabling continuous uncrewed or remotely piloted operations.

The Cessna 208 Caravan cargo plane is a short take-off and landing aircraft weighing roughly 8,000 pounds with a cargo capacity of up to 3,000 pounds. Reliable is the first company to embark on trying to automate an aircraft of that size, said Scott O鈥橞rien, head of legislative affairs at Reliable Robotics. The company expects to begin testing of the planes in August.

The FAA will help the company support the effort by creating a detect-and-avoid radar capable of spotting other aircraft and hot air balloons 鈥� a consideration in New Mexico, where sa国际传媒官网网页入口 hosts the world鈥檚 largest balloon festival, O鈥橞rien said. It will also deploy an auto-landing technology that uses a precision GPS approach, allowing the aircraft to touch ground at airports even in zero visibility conditions.

Beyond safety, the system aims for greater efficiency, as remote pilots will be able to conduct multiple flights in a day and operate from different locations. With smaller aircraft crashes far more common than those involving commercial planes, O鈥橞rien said the company aims to close that safety gap.

鈥淭his project is a really good opportunity for our company and the Sunport in New Mexico to show how we integrate aircraft autonomy into control air space in a safe manner that鈥檚 repeatable across the country,鈥� O鈥橞rien said.

Reliable Robotics CEO and co-founder Robert Rose said the company is committed to integrating aircraft autonomy into today鈥檚 national airspace system.

鈥淲e鈥檙e proud to partner with the city of sa国际传媒官网网页入口 Aviation Department on our projects, which will demonstrate a direct path to autonomous regional air cargo operations,鈥� he said.

The selection comes just before the company announced to accelerate deployment of its autonomous aircraft system, with investors including a strategic partner of Boeing and RTX Ventures. Since its , the company has nearly tripled its workforce and said the new capital is helping it continue to grow and expand its production facilities.

Reliable currently has more than 200 employees, including mechanical and aerospace engineers, to 鈥渒eep getting our technology across the finish line of certification,鈥� O鈥橞rien said.

O鈥橞rien credited government engagement as a key factor in the company鈥檚 momentum.

鈥淚t has just given us a really good opportunity to establish a closer relationship with the Sunport and city government and get more people in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 aware of what we鈥檙e doing,鈥� O鈥橞rien said.

The momentum at Reliable is part of a larger picture Duffy is eager to defend. He pushed back on the notion that other countries are winning the innovation race, arguing that the technology being developed in the U.S. keeps jobs and manufacturing in the country.

When American companies sell their products globally, Duffy said, the benefits fly back home, pointing to the economic model he wants to protect and grow. He added that 鈥渨hat a lot of people don鈥檛 understand is that aviation in America is unmatched by anyone, anywhere in the world.鈥�

鈥淲e are moving at lightning speed to upgrade the system to make sure we do it on behalf of the American people,鈥� Duffy said. 鈥淚 couldn鈥檛 be prouder to be here, couldn鈥檛 be happier to be in sa国际传媒官网网页入口 with such a great company that鈥檚 going to change the future of aviation.鈥�

Keelin Fisher is a business reporter for the Journal. You can reach her at kfisher@abqjournal.com.