The FAA has selected the New York UAS Test Site at Griffiss International Airport in Rome, New York and the Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership in Blacksburg, Virginia to participate in phase two of the unmanned aircraft traffic management pilot program (UPP).

During UPP Phase 2, capabilities and services that support high-density UAS operations will be showcased, including remote identification services and public safety operations. Data collected from UPP Phase 2 tests will help inform a cross-agency unmanned traffic management (UTM) system implementation plan.

“We couldn’t be happier that the FAA has selected Oneida County’s New York UAS Test Site at Griffiss to develop the next phase of UAS traffic management,” says Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr.

“That our site has been chosen from what is already a small, elite group that has been granted test site status, is a testament to the high quality of work and collaboration of our partners in Rome. It’s an honor to be on the forefront of the next evolution of this transformative technology.”

UPP Phase 1 was completed in Aug. 2019, in collaboration with NASA, FAA UAS test sites and their industry partners. Several capabilities were tested during Phase 1, including the exchange of flight data among UAS operators and generating an emergency “no-fly zone” for general unmanned aircraft, clearing the skies for emergency response drones.

Over the past five years, more than 3,000 advanced UAS test flights, including UTM tests, have been conducted at the NY UAS Test Site. New York’s 50-mile drone corridor, which starts at the test site in Rome and stretches across the state to Syracuse, has the necessary infrastructure and technologies in place to complete the advanced drone operations and UTM standardization work outlined in UPP Phase 2.

To complete the work outlined in UPP Phase 2, Oneida County and the New York UAS Test Site have partnered with multiple local, national and international organizations, including AiRXOS, Albany County Sheriff’s Office, Johns Hopkins University – Applied Physics Lab (on behalf of the FAA TCAS Program Office), Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance Inc. (NUAIR), and the Syracuse Fire Department, to name a few.
​
Virtual collaboration on UPP Phase 2 began in mid-April of this year. Live flights and component testing will take place at the Test Site starting this month.

“The New York UAS Test Site being selected by the FAA to take part in this next phase speaks to the amount of meaningful testing and research we’ve been doing here in Central New York to advance the industry,” says Tony Basile, chief operations officer of NUAIR. 

“The collaborative work we will achieve with our industry-leading partners will help shape the commercial drone industry on a national, if not international level.”