Virginia Tech Awarded $2.6M to Test UAS  




By Ashley Addington



Virginia Tech will be awarded $2.6 million over the next three years in Federal Action Contingency Trust funds to operate an unmanned systems test site in the state of Virginia. 



 The grant will begin in 2014 with a starting sum of $1 million and continue to advance over time. The testing range will be operated by Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership, which is led by Virginia Tech and Rutgers. 



 “Virginia Tech is honored to be leading this effort for the commonwealth of Virginia and extremely gratified by the commonwealth’s support,” said Virginia Tech President Charles W. Steger in a press release. “We are convinced that Virginia, teamed with New Jersey and Maryland, is poised to make the mid-Atlantic region the leader in unmanned aircraft system research, development, testing and evaluation, and manufacturing. I’m proud of our faculty with the Virginia Center for Autonomous Systems and Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science for providing vital expertise in autonomous systems to this effort.”  



 The funds awarded for this program will change the organization’s status from volunteer to a fully functioning, revenue-producing organization. The site will now have the ability to conduct testing that can be done for the government and military officials. 



 The aim of this partnership is to benefit and grow the Virginia economy and budget, according to a Virginia Tech press release.