Carson City, January 1, 2014: On December 30th the FAA designated Nevada one of six test sites for the integration of commercial applications of Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) into the National Air Space. Nevada’s success was the culmination of two years of work to put the state at the cutting edge of this new and promising industry. With an FAA stated goal of introducing small unmanned vehicles into the commercial airspace by September 30, 2015, Nevada has already begun the process of recruiting companies to Nevada to test at our sites.
“Being selected as one of six sites for UAV development in the country is a historic moment for Nevada,” Governor Brian Sandoval said.
The State of Nevada submitted the final volume of its proposal to the FAA in May of 2013. Nevada’s application included the State as the direct applicant and a 28-member team. Nevada’s team members, who represented a cross section of public and private partners, industry and academic leaders, within the northern and southern regions of the state, identified four locations for testing across the state. Those four testing sites are: Fallon Municipal Airport, Boulder City Municipal Airport, Desert Rock Airport, and Stead Airport.
Praxis Aerospace Concepts International (PACI) is proud to be one of the 28-members of the awarded team. Our CEO was the proposal manager for Nevada Governor’s Office of Economic Development (GOED) bid and establishment of an FAA Unmanned Aircraft Systems Test Site within the State of Nevada, and was the inaugural Technical Director of the State’s UAS Program Management Office for the full duration of that contract.
49 regions from 36 states submitted responses to the FAA. That number was reduced to 25 in mid-2013, and on the 30th, Nevada joined successful sites in New York, Virginia, Texas, North Dakota, and Alaska. Director Hill signed the Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) – the contract with the FAA – on December 31st.
In their announcement release, the FAA had this to say about Nevada: “Nevada’s project objectives concentrate on UAS standards and operations as well as operator standards and certification requirements. The applicant’s research will also include a concentrated look at how air traffic control procedures will evolve with the introduction of UAS in the civil environment and how these aircraft will be integrated with NextGen. Nevada’s selection contributes to geographic and climatic diversity.”
Read the full article in the January 2014 issue of “THE ECONOMIC PULSE” here