Drone company Avion Unmanned must have been on Santa’s “Nice” list this season. The state of Connecticut just awarded the firm a contract to provide UAS services to state and local government agencies.

A division of Avion Solutions, Avion Unmanned is now authorized to provide drone services nationwide through the National Association of State Procurement Officials ValuePoint Cooperative Purchasing Organization. Services include emergency services, law-enforcement support, aerial inspection/mapping data services, support to Agricultural and Gaming, as well as agency media relations and marketing.

Taylor Abington, Senior Program Manager of Avion Unmanned, explains:

“Providing a simplified direct path for government agencies at all levels to request unmanned aircraft operations is finally a reality. With the signing of this Participating Addendum with Connecticut, Avion Unmanned has been selected to provide critical data collection services to organizations who desperately need it, but have never before had a contract vehicle to acquire vetted, legal and safe operations in a timely manner.”

Avion Unmanned has collaborated with the Department of Energy and Oak Ridge National Laboratory to create a technical publication titled “An Early Survey of Best Practices for the Use of Unmanned Aerial Systems by the Electric Utility Industry.” In 2017, the company partnered with Huntsville (Ala.) Utilities to deliver a proposal to the American Public Power Association. The paper explores the feasibility of drone use in the public-utility sector.

“Avion Unmanned’s solutions are true force multipliers that provide actionable data, reduce operational risks, and improve efficiency in critical areas from disaster response to law enforcement, infrastructure and construction development/monitoring and even agriculture management,” Avion Solutions CEO Chad Donald said. “Under this new contract, Avion will partner with agencies nationwide to enable better decision-making, improve operations, and save lives.”

Partnerships between drone providers and government procurement agencies have launched many firms into a new altitude of success.

Earlier this year, North Carolina-based Charlotte UAV won a contract to provide Virginia government agencies with UAS services ranging from emergency/law-enforcement support to gaming, agriculture, media relations and marketing services.