On Friday, Dec. 21, the University of North Dakota (UND), along with research partners from Harris Corporation and the Northern Plains UAS Test Site (NPUASTS), completed what they are calling the first-ever test flights over a “specially developed UAS network of technologies” that opens the skies for broad commercial use of UAS.

Known as the Harris UAS Network, the North Dakota-based network combines detect-and-avoid capabilities developed at UND with UAS technology and services from Harris. The network is described as a “system of integrated ground infrastructure” that enables commercial UAS to fly much farther and safer beyond the visual line of sight (BVLOS) in national airspace.

With most current long-range UAS operations being limited due to pilots having to maintain constant visual contact with their UAS, the new North Dakota network keeps watch over a 55-mile-long corridor between Grand Forks and Fargo, which represents the UAS industry’s first-ever implementation of wide-area, multi-user UAS BVLOS airspace, according to researchers at UND’s Research Institute for Autonomous Systems (RIAS).

Conducted in Eastern North Dakota, the December flights tested the ability of the Harris UAS Network to provide UAS pilots with airspace awareness to stay well clear of manned aircraft and other objects.

The network is enhanced by locally deployed sensors for both cooperative and non-cooperative (radar) surveillance, as well as the integration of the FAA’s NextGen UAS surveillance data feed.

“A lot of the technology was developed at the University of North Dakota, so this is a huge day and a very big deal for us as well as for our partners at Harris and the Northern Plains UAS Test Site,” says Mark Askelson, interim executive director of UND’s RIAS and an expert on the use of radar technology.

The UAS network is part of a North Dakota Department of Commerce ResearchND project that grew out of prior UAS research collaborations between UND, the NPUASTS and Harris, according to Chris Theisen, director of research and development for the NPUASTS.

Theisen and his crew are responsible for not only executing the test flights, but also monitoring the effectiveness of the technologies that make up the network.

“These tests signify the start of operations on the network, which is the first one anywhere that’s been deployed for multi-user commercial applications,” Theisen says.

“It’s a significant milestone in the development of the commercial UAS industry — in our country as well as globally — and we’re proud that it took place right here in North Dakota.”

Just a few weeks before these flights were conducted, North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum recommended $30 million to develop statewide infrastructure supporting UAS BLVOS operations.

“The idea is that what we’re doing here with Harris and the Northern Plains UAS Test Site will serve as a template to build out to other locations in the state and then across the country,” Askelson says.

Once the Harris UAS network is fully operational, it, along with the airspace authorizations above it, will represent the most advanced test bed in the country for UAS research and development, the entities say.

A more formal unveiling and demonstration of the UAS network is expected to take place in the spring.