Boeing subsidiary SkyGrid targets AAM integration at Port San Antonio, Texas

AUSTIN, Texas - SkyGrid in Austin, Texas, an advanced air mobility third-party service provider, and Port San Antonio in San Antonio, will jointly explore technologies, services, and operational frameworks to safely integrate advanced air mobility operations at the Port’s 1,900-acre Tech Port campus and beyond.

Under a memorandum of understanding, the organizations will assess the technical, regulatory, and operational requirements necessary to enable and scale crewed and uncrewed aircraft operations, leveraging Port San Antonio’s Tech Port campus and SkyGrid’s digital airspace services, automation, and operational assurance expertise.

The effort is intended to build an operational framework for integrating advanced air mobility aircraft into a joint-use airfield environment at Kelly Field, including coordination with existing military and commercial aviation activity. Port San Antonio has advanced plans to develop a vertiport and has conducted prior analyses of its infrastructure, surrounding airspace, and tenant technology base to support advanced air mobility research, development, and flight operations.

Related: Wisk acquires SkyGrid to advance AAM operations

Wisk Aero LLC in Mountain View, Calif., has identified Texas as a U.S. launch market for its autonomous advanced air mobility operations. SkyGrid, a Boeing company and subsidiary of Wisk Aero, develops digital airspace systems intended to support the integration of autonomous and advanced air mobility aircraft into regulated airspace.

"Advanced air mobility will only scale if it can be tested in environments that reflect real operational complexity," said Jia Xu, CEO of SkyGrid. "Kelly Field’s joint-use setting, combined with Port San Antonio’s infrastructure and vision, makes it an ideal proving ground to evaluate how digital airspace services and cyber-resilient systems can support the next generation of aviation."

Building infrastructure

While much industry attention has focused on aircraft development, the collaboration centers on enabling infrastructure and operational assurance systems. Under the agreement, the organizations will examine advanced air mobility concepts of operations for joint-use airfields, along with potential digital flight rules, airspace design modifications, routing structures, and integration with existing air traffic management systems.

The partners also will evaluate low-altitude traffic surveillance capabilities, micro-weather monitoring, and digital situational awareness tools to support dense, mixed-use airspace operations. Additional areas of study include advanced air mobility service provision models, airport and vertiport operational concepts, communication, navigation, and surveillance systems, cyber-resilient infrastructure, and the certification and operational approval of associated ground systems.

The partnership may align with state and federal initiatives, including potential proposals under the eVTOL Integration Pilot Program, Center for Advanced Aviation Technologies task orders, and other aviation modernization efforts.

"SkyGrid is an invaluable partner as we begin proving advanced air mobility," said Jim Perschbach, president and CEO of Port San Antonio. "Their focus on digital airspace infrastructure and operational assurance aligns directly with the realities of a joint-use airfield. This partnership is a major validation of what we’ve long believed that Port San Antonio is uniquely positioned to help shape the future of aviation."