Meeting Marks Critical Step In Creating A True BVLOS Test Range For Drones

The Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance (NUAIR), a global leader advancing unmanned systems technology, hosted its first official unmanned traffic management (UTM) kick off meeting with partners in Syracuse on December 11 and 12. The purpose of the meeting was to establish a joint roadmap to advance research and development opportunities, identify and resolve technical issues, and lay the framework for a detailed implementation plan to build an operational Beyond Visual Line-of-Sight (BVLOS) UTM system.

Partners at the meeting included, AX Enterprize; SRC; Thales; Unifly; AirMap; ANRA; Assured Information Security; CAL Analytics; Crown Consulting; GE Global; AGI/OneSky; Raytheon; TrueWeather Solutions; Mosaic ATM; Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab; and Syracuse University.

“This meeting brought together all of our test site’s partners for an important joint planning session where we were able to develop a shared vision for the advancement of the UTM corridor and test site,” said Major General Marke F. “Hoot” Gibson (ret) (pictured). “This is the first step in establishing a true BVLOS UTM corridor and test range where any company with a product that is part of a UTM ecosystem can come, test, and develop commercial uses that will benefit our region. We are excited to put this plan into action and further establish this partnership as a global leader.”

This announcement builds on a $30 million investment announced by New York State Governor Andrew M. Cuomo to develop the 50-mile flight traffic management system between Syracuse and Griffiss International Airport, in Rome, New York to advance the burgeoning UAS industry as part of the CNY Rising initiative.

The NUAIR Alliance is an organizational partner of CenterState CEO and manages one of seven FAA designated UAS test sites in the country. The organizations are strategically aligned in their efforts to build public and private partnerships to advance leading edge UAS and UTM technologies, and create a hub for the industry that will attract investments and business development.

(Source: NUAIR Alliance news release. Image from file)

FMI: www.nuairalliance.org