DART Joins Inaugural CAAT Consortium Meeting to Advance National AAM Infrastructure Strategy

Monterey Bay DART proudly participated in the inaugural Center for Advanced Aviation Technology (CAAT) Consortium meeting held September 29–30, 2025, at Burnett Plaza in Fort Worth, Texas. The two-day session—organized by Texas A&M University–Corpus Christi’s Autonomy Research Institute (ARI)—marked a major milestone in shaping a national research and policy framework for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) and next-generation aviation systems.

 

 

 

 

Building on relationships established earlier this summer, when CAAT Executive Director Col. (ret) Mike Sanders joined DART for a multi-day California visit and collaboration session at NASA Ames, Joby Aviation, Airspace Integration, and the Berkeley Space Center, DART joined fellow leaders from across the public, private, and academic sectors to formally launch the CAAT Infrastructure Working Group.

 

 

 

 

 

 

DART Executive Director Josh Metz was joined by Patrick Gould of Skyway and Rick Scholte of Sorama in representing California’s  (and the Netherlands) emerging low-altitude economy ecosystems. Together, they contributed to the Infrastructure Working Group’s formation and White Paper Series strategy, which will guide the development of frameworks and policy recommendations around energy, digital systems, workforce, community acceptance, and infrastructure standards.

“CAAT provides a vital national platform to align research, policy, and infrastructure planning for the future of advanced aviation,” said Metz. “DART is honored to be among the founding CAAT Consortium members helping shape this next chapter in aviation history.”

The meeting also featured valuable discussions with federal and regional leaders, including Earnest Huffman (North Central Texas Council of Governments), James Grimsley (Choctaw Nation), and the Texas A&M Autonomy Research Institute team.

Through this collaboration, DART became an official member of the CAAT Consortium and will contribute to the Infrastructure Working Group’s upcoming White Paper Series (2025–2026)—a national effort to define the physical, digital, and community foundations of AAM deployment.

Special thanks to Col. (ret) Mike Sanders and his team for hosting such a productive and forward-looking session. We look forward to hearing more from Mike and the CAAT leadership team at the 2026 LIFT Summit in Monterey, California.

Photo Highlights:
(Images from the Inaugural CAAT Consortium Meeting – Fort Worth, TX, Sept 2025 and from Director Michael Sanders visit to Silicon Valley and the Monterey Bay region)