Northern Plains UAS Test Site to Host Summer Event

Vantis, North Dakota’s statewide unmanned aircraft systems network, has named the companies and organizations that will be flying real-life use cases on its network this summer.

The six winners were selected following a request for proposal (RFP) process that sought multiple unmanned aircraft systems to support operational testing of beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) flights on the statewide network. 

Vantis Program Manager Jim Cieplak states, “We have selected some of the most innovative and advanced UAS operators and manufacturers out there … We look forward to this next stage, with multiple aircraft flying multiple use cases on Vantis simultaneously.”

Organizations selected to participate in the network test include: 

• American Aerospace Technologies, which will focus on pipeline and other linear infrastructure inspections. 
• Asylon, which will evaluate perimeter security use cases.
• ISight Drone Services, which will conduct gravel road inspections as well as other infrastructure inspection use cases.
• Phoenix Air Unmanned, which will conduct electric utility line inspections with long endurance, heavy-lift aircraft.
• UND Aerospace Foundation, which will focus on search and rescue/emergency services applications.
• Workhorse, which will test small package delivery.

The testing will be conducted at the Northern Plains UAS Test Site, one of seven Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) unmanned aircraft system (UAS) test sites in the United States. 

The mission of the NPUASTS is to collaborate with FAA and industry partners to develop systems, rules, and procedures to safely integrate unmanned aircraft into the National Airspace System without negatively impacting existing general or commercial aviation.

FMI: www.npuasts.com