Goal Is FAA Approval For BVLOS UAV Testing Next Year

With UAV testing already underway at Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport (KSGH) in Ohio, the state and the U.S. Air Force are making an additional $5 million investment at the airport with the goal of being approved for Beyond Visual Line Of Sight (BVLOS) testing next year.

The Dayton Daily News reports that the USAF Research Laboratory and the Wright State Research Institute plan to install new technology at the airport before the end of the year. The equipment and software under development is for autonomous flight of UAVs, rather than control from a human operator. The equipment would be operated by the Ohio/Indiana UAS Test Center in Springfield. Art Huber, director of operations for AFRL, said the approval of BVLOS testing could give companies like Amazon, which hopes to establish deliveries by autonomous drones, a reason to invest near the Springfield Airport and "less incentive for people to go elsewhere."

KSGH was initially chosen as a test site for UAVs because of its proximity to Wright-Patterson AFB. Airport manager Don Smith said the airport has been actively seeking the establishment of commercial drone businesses at the airport for several years.

FMI: http://www.dot.state.oh.us/divisions/uas/Pages/default.aspx