New Investment and New Partnerships Expands NUAIR Drone Testing Capability to Global Markets

Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research (NUAIR) and the New York UAS Test Site at Griffiss International Airport, have successfully deployed and integrated five unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) service suppliers into the New York UAS Corridor: AirMap, ANRA, AGI/OneSky, Thales and Unifly. Each of these UAS service suppliers bring their unique expertise in live flight tracking, real-time situational awareness, flight data exchange mechanisms, analytics, UAS traffic management (UTM) and more.

Currently, there are two predominant UTM models, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) UTM concept and the European U-Space model. Having both types of UAS service suppliers at the New York UAS Test Site gives it the ability to test against each model independently, collect data and develop a way for the two to coexist and interoperate smoothly. This opens the doors for companies from across the globe to come to Central New York, test their drone technologies and help build an interoperable, global, UTM system.

“New partners, new investment and new technologies have opened the door to the New York UAS Test Site and NUAIR to do business with practically any drone company in the world,” said Oneida County Executive Anthony Picente.

“Having multiple UAS service suppliers leveraging our command and control infrastructure at the test site allows for any company to test their drone technology, regardless of the platform or service supplier,” said Tony Basile, chief operations officer at NUAIR. “These partners provide capabilities that allow the New York UAS Test Site to collect mission data, test cross- communications between platforms and allows a wider range of operators to use our facilities and advance the UAS industry.”

“As UTM ecosystem industry consensus standards evolve, we need a place where industry can conduct disciplined testing to validate performance requirements and eventually verify UAS service suppliers or supplemental data service providers as compliant with those standards,” said Andy Thurling, chief technology officer at NUAIR. “This will streamline FAA performance authorizations and enable widespread commercial use of UTM in the New York UTM Corridor and beyond.”

Full integration of the five UAS service suppliers marks a major milestone in NUAIR’s five-phase integration plan for the New York UAS Test Site. The next phase of integration is underway, which includes the further maturation of the USS-to-USS communication system and live testing. The integration will culminate with a capstone event at the New York UAS Test Site held in September during the New York UAS Symposium hosted by NUAIR.

Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research (NUAIR) is a New York based nonprofit coalition of private and public entities and academic institutions that provide unsurpassed expertise in aeronautical research, unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operations, and safety management. Headquartered in Syracuse, NY, NUAIR manages operations of the New York UAS Test Site at Griffiss International Airport in Rome, NY, one of just seven FAA- designated UAS test sites in the United States, which is responsible to the Federal Aviation Administration and National Aeronautics and Space Administration to conduct operations for UAS testing. NUAIR is a recognized leader in technology and applications development in building the case for safe UAS operations in the Nation’s airspace. NUAIR provides safety, airworthiness, technical, operational, and customer support. Visit www.nuair.org to learn more.