EHang co-founder George Yan expressed interest in establishing a partnership with a test site and to expand their company into the United States. “It will be a first for the state of Nevada and for the United States, once we get them qualified,” he said. The institute will develop test criteria to help EHang Inc. prove aircraft worthiness to the Federal Aviation Administration. “We will help them submit necessary test results and reports to the FAA and all that kind of stuff,” Barker said. “It’s a big deal for EHang and it’s a big deal for NIAS and the state of Nevada because we will be helping them to test and validate their system.” This partnership will advance the state’s commercial drone industry, Wilczek said in a statement. “I personally look forward to the day when drone taxis are part of Nevada’s transportation system,” he said.