Aerium and Horizon Aerobotics Launch Strategic Partnership to Advance Autonomous Aviation and Workforce Innovation in Pennsylvania

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Johnstown, PA [February 4, 2026] — Aerium today announced a major partnership with Horizon Aerobotics that is poised to accelerate innovation in autonomous aviation while strengthening Pennsylvania’s position as a national leader in next-generation workforce development. The collaboration brings Horizon Aerobotics’ expanding U.S. operations to Cambria County and activates Aerium’s ecosystem of educators, industry partners, and community organizations to support the growth of a transformative new aviation sector.

Aerium’s regional ecosystem—purpose-built to support advanced air mobility (AAM), UAS integration, and emerging aviation technologies - played a pivotal role in Horizon Aerobotics’ decision to anchor its U.S. Remote Operations Center in Cambria County.

“Pennsylvania’s Southern Alleghenies region has shown that it is ready to lead the next chapter of aviation,” said Larry Nulton, PhD., Aerium Chair. “Horizon Aerobotics’ decision to put its national operations hub here validates years of coordinated work across education, workforce development, and infrastructure investment.”

The Remote Operations Center will be located at the Mid-Atlantic Opportunity Park at John Murtha Johnstown-Cambria County Airport, providing Horizon Aerobotics with direct access to a supportive testing environment, established aviation assets, and a community focused on long-term innovation.

Central to the partnership is Aerium’s mission to build a new generation of aviation professionals equipped for increasingly complex UAS operations, including many-to-one fleet management and beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) flight.

Horizon Aerobotics anticipates adding approximately 247 highly skilled positions, and Aerium is coordinating regional educational and workforce programs to prepare candidates for these emerging roles.

Institutions such as St. Francis University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and the University of Pittsburgh Johnstown are actively collaborating with Aerium and Horizon Aerobotics to create a seamless education-to-industry pipeline. This pipeline offers new curriculum pathways, hands‑on technical training, and opportunities for applied research.

“Together with Horizon Aerobotics, we are creating training programs that simply didn’t exist before,” said Glenn Ponas, Aerium Executive Director. “These are the jobs that will define the next 20 years of not just aviation and transform how industries across the national economy operate, compete, and grow.”

Aerium’s regional network of industry partners, government leaders, and infrastructure stakeholders is enabling Horizon Aerobotics to accelerate validation of AI-powered aerial intelligence solutions. This includes ongoing collaboration with railroad and critical infrastructure partners to operationally evaluate next-generation inspection systems.

For Aerium, these efforts illustrate the power of aligning industry, academia, and community leaders around technology adoption with real public benefit.

Beyond industry applications, Aerium and Horizon Aerobotics are jointly exploring how a shared regional network of drone infrastructure could support:

Such a network would represent one of the most ambitious multi-use autonomous aviation infrastructures in the United States.

“This partnership reflects exactly why Aerium was created,” said Dr. Nulton. “We are not just preparing people for the future of aviation, we are helping build that future here, in real time, with partners who see the same potential in this region that we do.”

Horizon Aerobotics CEO Denver Hopkins echoed the alignment:

“Aerium has built a model that integrates workforce, innovation, and operations in a way that directly accelerates our expansion from Texas. It is the ideal ecosystem for a company like ours.” Hopkins added, “We are proud to join Aerium and play a part in its statewide efforts to build a more robust workforce for advanced autonomous aviation."

As the partnership moves from vision to execution, Horizon Aerobotics’ flight operations leadership sees Johnstown as a critical proving ground for scalable, commercial BVLOS missions. "The future of the commercial drone industry is anchored in beyond visual line of sight operations. That's why we're excited to partner with Aerium in Johnstown - they're building the workforce infrastructure and training pathways this ecosystem needs to scale,” said Nick Sammons, VP Flight Operations for Horizon Aerobotics. “From operations centers to advanced remote pilots, this is where the next chapter begins."

About Aerium

Aerium is a national leader dedicated to accelerating aviation innovation and expanding the workforce needed to sustain it. Through collaborative partnerships that leverage the strength of the entire aviation ecosystem - industry, education, government, and community organizations - Aerium drives forward solutions that make flight safer, smarter, and more accessible. At the same time, Aerium strengthens talent pipelines by preparing students, educators, and workers for high-demand careers across aerospace and advanced technology fields. By uniting innovation with workforce development, Aerium ensures both businesses and communities are ready for the opportunities of a rapidly evolving aviation economy.

Learn more at Aerium.org

About Horizon Aerobotics

Horizon Aerobotics is an aerial intelligence company transforming critical infrastructure security and safety through 24/7 aerial patrol and inspection services using autonomous drones with AI. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, with Remote Operations Centers in Texas and Pennsylvania, Horizon serves Fortune 100 customers and federal agencies in maritime security, border protection, and critical infrastructure monitoring. ​

Learn more at Horizonaerobotics.com