Utah aerospace group seeks state funds to back DIU hub, advanced air mobility push

Corianne Edwards, chief strategy officer for 47gs, Utah’s aerospace and defense organization, asked the Executive Appropriations Committee for state funding to expand what she called the state’s “advanced air mobility” ecosystem and to pursue a federal Defense Innovation Unit on-ramp designation.

Edwards told the committee that aerospace and defense are “foundational to Utah,” saying the sector represents “19.2 of our GDP,” supports tens of thousands of high-wage jobs and is a strategic asset. She outlined Project Alta’s work with state partners and industry, saying it has mobilized more than 80 stakeholders and secured partnerships with firms including Beta Technologies and Joby Aviation.

Edwards presented economic projections tied to the advanced air mobility sector — “11,000 jobs, 8,000,000,000 in business activity, and 1,800,000,000 in tax revenue” — and said a continued “investment of 600,000 ongoing is critical to sustaining our momentum.” She asked the committee to approve a one-time appropriation of $650,000 to serve as matching funds to capture larger federal opportunities tied to a $50,000,000 federal expansion of the DIU on-ramp network.

Edwards described Project Alta’s partnerships with UDOT, the Governor’s Office of Economic Opportunity (GOEO) and the Inland Port Authority and said the requested funds would help establish “the physical and digital infrastructure for the hub, and connect Utah’s commercial tech companies directly to Department of War contracts.” The presentation concluded without a formal committee vote on the request.

Next steps: Edwards said she expects the federal integration pilot decision in about two weeks and framed the state request as a means to qualify Utah for new federal opportunities.