Governor Mike DeWine Awards $75 Million for Ohio Advanced Air Mobility and Aerospace Testing Hub

DAYTON, Ohio — Governor Mike DeWine and Lt. Governor Jon Husted announced on Monday the award of a $75 million Ohio Innovation Hub grant to establish the National Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Center of Excellence at the Dayton International Airport, adjacent to the Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.

The investment, matched by $90 million in private aerospace capital and federal defense contracts, establishes a 50-mile instrumented radar and optical testing corridor between Dayton, Springfield, and Columbus for evaluating uncrewed aerial systems (UAS), electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) passenger aircraft, and autonomous air cargo freighters.

Honoring Dayton's Historic Aviation Heritage Dayton is the birthplace of aviation, where the Wright brothers engineered the first powered airplane. Today, the Dayton region serves as the command center for U.S. Air Force aerospace research and commercial flight autonomy engineering.

"More than a century ago, the Wright brothers changed the world right here in Dayton, and today Ohio is leading the next revolution in flight," Governor DeWine said at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force. "Advanced air mobility and uncrewed aviation will transform how we move medical supplies, cargo, and people. This $75 million investment ensures that Ohio remains the premier national testing ground and manufacturing capital for next-generation aerospace technology."

Corridor Infrastructure and Job Creation The project funds:

• Instrumented Low-Altitude Radar Tracking Network: Installing ground-based detect-and-avoid (DAA) sensor arrays and dedicated 5G aviation telemetry towers.
• Advanced Flight Simulation and Avionics Testing Hangar: A 70,000-square-foot facility for environmental extremes and electromagnetic interference testing.
• University Aerospace Research Consortium: University of Dayton and Ohio State University receiving $15 million to train 500 aerospace engineers and autonomous avionics software developers annually.

Regional defense leaders, municipal officials, and emerging eVTOL manufacturers praised the state funding, projecting the hub will create over 1,000 advanced aerospace engineering jobs over the next five years.