Senator Secured Authorities, Partnerships & FAA Waivers Allowing Unmanned Commercial Operations like iSight to Move Forward
GRAND FORKS, N.D. – Senator John Hoeven today joined Tommy Kenville, CEO of iSight Drone Services, and officials from the Northern Plains Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Test Site in in announcing that iSight will conduct unmanned, beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) flights in the Grand Forks region. Specifically, the company:
Has finalized an agreement with Altru Health System to use unmanned aircraft for transporting supplies and records between the main clinic and satellite facilities in the Grand Forks region.
Will conduct the flights utilizing the test site’s Vantis network, a statewide system of sensors and radar that enable UAS to fly without a ground observer or chase plane.
Is able to move forward with the BVLOS flights due to the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) Near-Term Approval Process (NTAP) program, the creation of which Hoeven worked to advance under the FAA reauthorization bill passed in 2018.
Prior to NTAP, the FAA would re-evaluate every piece of infrastructure and system associated with a UAS flight every single time the aircraft would fly.
This imposed significant barriers and added cost on efforts to develop, test and demonstrate UAS capabilities.
In September 2023, the FAA accepted the Northern Plains Test Site as its first service provider to begin the NTAP program. Vantis completed all four phases of the NTAP program in May 2024.
This made UAS operations in North Dakota significantly more feasible and cost-effective than anywhere else in the nation, allowing for accelerated development of new commercial applications for unmanned aircraft.
“We have spent decades working to safely integrate unmanned aircraft into the national airspace, while positioning North Dakota at the center of these efforts through the Northern Plains UAS Test Site, Grand Sky, the University of North Dakota and the partnerships we’ve established with military, government and private sector organizations. Today’s announcement with iSight Drone Services is the latest example of why this work is so important,” said Hoeven. “Tommy Kenville has been thinking creatively about getting drones into the national airspace for many years, so it makes sense to partner his company with our test site in developing and demonstrating new commercial applications for UAS. The services iSight will provide to Altru will not only serve the hospital system and its patients, this work will also open the door to all sorts of new, exciting economic activity. All of it is possible due to the unique combination of legal authorities, capabilities and partnerships we’ve developed here in North Dakota that don’t exist anywhere else.”
Today’s announcement follows Hoeven’s efforts since his time as governor to establish North Dakota as a premiere site for unmanned aviation research, development, testing, training and operations, having worked to secure the authorizations and capabilities needed to safely integrate UAS into the national airspace. Among other priorities, his work includes:
Sponsoring and passing the legislation that created the FAA’s UAS test sites, with North Dakota’s Northern Plains UAS Test Site being the first in the nation.
Subsequently, Congress passed a Hoeven-authored provision reauthorizing the test sites through Fiscal Year (FY) 2028, as part of the 2024 FAA reauthorization bill.
The bill also authorized $6 million per year for grants to companies that conduct research with UAS test sites, consistent with a measure that Hoeven has secured in annual appropriations bills in recent years.
Securing waivers from the FAA for expanded BVLOS unmanned flights for the Northern Plains UAS Test Site. This includes waivers to:
Allow BVLOS flights in the Grand Forks region utilizing enhanced radar software.
Support UAS flights involving aircraft that do not have a public designation, meaning companies can fly with the test site to get the experience necessary to prove that their aircraft are safe in preparation for accessing the wider National Airspace System (NAS). As a result, a larger number of companies are able to obtain BVLOS waivers through North Dakota’s test site.
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