Federal approval for BVLOS drone flights in North Dakota

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

BVLOS authorisation was granted following a demonstration by uAvionix to the FAA that it established adequate risk mitigations to satisfy required safety standards for the specified operation within the national airspace system.

UAS network

For the exercise, uAvionix leveraged Vantis, the state’s first-of-its-kind unmanned aerial systems (UAS) network and received support from the Northern Plains UAS Test Site.

North Dakota claims to lead the way in bringing UAS to commercial sectors safely and economically with Vantis. This success adds to the foundation that Vantis has set for the next phase of operation this summer.

“This first-of-its-kind approval for our partners is a critical step that validates our state’s investment and years of work to bring UAS aircraft to commercial sectors in a safe and economic way.” said Doug Burgum, governor of North Dakota. “Other states are reaching out to us as a national leader in UAS.”

“Vantis was designed to serve many drone operators across multiple sectors. This first approval is an important milestone for Vantis, as a blueprint for widespread commercial BVLOS enablement”

The Northern Plains UAS Test Site, administering Vantis for the state of North Dakota, partnered with Thales USA to develop and implement Vantis, a UAS system that allows UAS pilots to command and control the UAS and remain well clear of other aircraft when flying beyond visual line of sight.

Vantis consists of ground-based aviation infrastructure, like that used in traditional aviation, which significantly lowers the barrier of entry to BVLOS flights for multiple users.