FAA approves beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) flights in North Dakota

The unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) avionics company uAvionix received Federal Aviation Administration approval to conduct advanced beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) flights of small UAVs in North Dakota. 

The flights will be conducted at the Northern Plains Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) Test Site (NPUASTS) in Grand Forks, one of seven FAA-run UAV test sites in the U.S., using the facility’s Vantis network, which is designed to support BVLOS test flights of unmanned aircraft. Vantis’ ground-based aviation infrastructure is designed to significantly lower the barrier of entry to BVLOS flights for users by providing robust command-and-control capabilities.

The FAA approval was granted after uAvionix demonstrated that it established adequate risk mitigations to satisfy required safety standards for BVLOS operation within the national airspace system, according to the company.

“We are incredibly proud to lead the way in North Dakota with our partners from Vantis and Thales,” uAvionix President Christian Ramsey, referring to Thales USA, one of the world’s largest air-traffic management providers. “Being able to demonstrate much of our ecosystem in approved BVLOS flight is a major milestone for our company, our partners and the broader aviation ecosystem.”

To read the complete article, visit IoT World Today.