The federal government will allow Beta Technologies to conduct medical and cargo flights in Vermont later this year as part of a new program intended to fast-track the emerging electric aviation industry.
The project is one of eight that the U.S. Department of Transportation approved on Monday as part of the Trump administration initiative.
Beta will participate in seven of the selected projects — more than any other electric aircraft maker.
In Vermont, Beta plans to partner with medical helicopter operator Metro Aviation to transport medical equipment across Lake Champlain, among other missions. The Louisiana-based company already conducts medical flights at the University of Vermont Medical Center.
The Department of Transportation said the pilot program will “create one of the largest real-world testing environments for next-generation aircraft in the world.”
No next-generation electric aircraft has been certified by the Federal Aviation Administration for general use. But Beta has flown more than 100,000 nautical miles in controlled test flights, mostly with its CX300 model that takes off and lands like a conventional plane.
The pilot program, which begins this summer, will allow the company to work more closely with potential customers and regulators. It’s also a chance for the aircraft maker to demonstrate to the public that its designs are safe.
The awards were announced just hours after Beta Technologies issued its first annual report as a public company.
The filings showed that the company increased its revenue last year but posted an operating loss of $372 million.
The loss was expected. Beta is spending big to hone its aircraft and manufacturing processes in a race to get its planes certified by the FAA. Company leaders told investors that they expect to spend a half-billion dollars or more in 2026. Beta still hopes to win regulatory approval to sell its CX300 aircraft for commercial use within the next two years.
In the call with investors, founder and CEO Kyle Clark said 2025 had been a “defining year” for the company. Beta raised $1.1 billion in its initial public offering, inked a $300 million deal with GE Aerospace to develop a hybrid-electric turbogenerator and racked up flight-test miles with its aircraft.
The company has also begun to broaden its revenue streams. It has previously relied on contracts with the U.S. government and customer United Therapeutics for nearly all of its revenue. Last year, those sources made up less than half of the $35.6 million that Beta earned, according to company disclosures. The company is selling its motors to another electric aviation firm and installing electric charging stations at airports around the country.
Customers such as UPS and Air New Zealand have placed firm orders for nearly 300 aircraft, worth more than $1 billion, with options to buy another 600.
Clark said Monday that Beta is focused on building trust with those customers.
“We’re planting the seeds that will germinate into much larger orders in the future,” he said.
Including one-time expenses, Beta posted a net loss of $746 million last year. But it also had $1.7 billion in cash at year’s end, which Chief Financial Officer Herman Cueto described as “one of the strongest balance sheets in our industry.”
The company’s top competitor, California-based Joby Aviation, had $1.4 billion in cash and short-term investments at the end of 2025, according to financial disclosures. Joby, which aspires to operate an Uber-like air taxi business, will participate in five of the projects that the Department of Transportation approved Monday.
Clark expressed confidence to investors that Beta would see a big boost from the program.
The CEO’s optimism was punctuated by the music played at the beginning of the earnings call. The company recorded a parody of a song by the '90s hip-hop group Naughty By Nature, tweaking the lyrics to celebrate the new pilot program —including the “flow of the dough from the government.”
