LAE Forum & Aviation Week AAM Awards 2026

This award recognizes exceptional technological breakthroughs by AAM manufacturers, component developers, and research institutions that advance the capabilities and integration of Advanced Air Mobility systems.

Eligible entries must have reached at least a full-scale (1:1) prototype, demonstrator, or equivalent advanced validation stage, and demonstrate a credible pathway toward certification, production, or operational integration.

Eligible innovations include:

• Airframes: Novel configurations, lightweight structures, modular architectures, manufacturable assemblies, improved crashworthiness
• Propulsion: Electric or hybrid-electric propulsion, motors, batteries, hydrogen systems, thermal management, distributed propulsion.
• Onboard Flight Systems: Integrated onboard and air-to-ground flight systems including avionics, autonomy, connectivity, flight control, detect-and-avoid (DAA), navigation, communications, cybersecurity, and health monitoring systems that directly enable safe and scalable aircraft operations. 
• Materials: Advanced composites, thermoplastics, recyclable or multifunctional materials, additive manufacturing.
• Enabling Technologies: Digital twins, predictive maintenance, vertiport and ground systems, software platforms, fleet management systems, manufacturing and certification tools, MRO and lifecycle technologies.

1. Best AAM Commercial Application – Passenger Transport

(Urban air taxi, regional mobility and tourism services)

2. Best AAM Commercial Application – Cargo Operations

(Aerial logistics and goods delivery platforms)

3. Best AAM Commercial Application – Public Service

(Surveillance, emergency response, safety enforcement, and public sector operations)

4. Best AAM Commercial Application – Industry Service

(Agriculture, mining, infrastructure inspection, and industry sectors operations)

This award honors the most impactful real-world or near-term deployments of AAM, recognizing operators, OEMs, platform providers, logistics companies, digital service providers, financial partners, and infrastructure consortiums enabling operational integration.

Eligible to entities that are:

• Actively conducting flight operations or advanced trials, OR
• Delivering a commercially deployed application, OR
• Executing a committed implementation plan supported by verifiable evidence

This award recognizes outstanding achievement in the planning, development, and implementation of infrastructure that enables safe, scalable, and sustainable Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) operations. It celebrates projects that demonstrate innovation, operational excellence, and strong alignment with broader urban mobility and aviation integration efforts.

Eligible to completed or in-progress infrastructure projects that support AAM deployment, including vertiports, UTM/ATM systems, charging networks, and related ecosystem enablers, including:

• Vertiports and ground infrastructure
• UTM/ATM integration systems
• Charging, energy and hydrogen networks
• Digital infrastructure (software platforms, data systems, interoperability layers)
• Supporting ecosystem enablers including financing, leasing, and insurance frameworks

This award honors exceptional marketing, public engagement, or advocacy campaigns that have significantly advanced awareness, understanding, and support for Advanced Air Mobility (AAM). 

Eligible to any AAM stakeholder including OEMs, operators, government agencies, consortia, or advocacy groups who have led campaigns related to AAM product launches, public education, policy advocacy, or ecosystem engagement. 

This award recognizes outstanding leadership in advancing regulatory frameworks, certification standards, and airspace integration critical to enabling AAM at scale. It honors contributions that have delivered tangible progress toward safe and commercially viable operations.

Eligible to regulators, aviation authorities, government bodies, international organizations, industry groups, and public-private partnerships.