In a first for North Dakota’s Vantis network, the FAA has granted uAvionix approval to operate drone flights beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) in North Dakota.  The approval leads the way for commercial drone companies to utilize the Vantis network to test and execute advanced drone operations.  It’s a validation of North Dakota’s investment in the drone industry, and could lead the way for other states.  From the press release:

Leveraging Vantis, the state’s first-of-its-kind UAS network, uAvionix, a drone company, received approval by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct beyond visual line-of-sight (BVLOS) drone flights in North Dakota. uAvionix demonstrated to the FAA that it established adequate risk mitigations to satisfy required safety standards for the specified BVLOS operation within the national airspace system.

North Dakota has invested in the drone industry for almost a decade, funding the Northern Plains UAS Test Site in 2013.  Since then, they’ve expanded support for the drone industry culminating in Vantis, a drone operating framework that puts the infrastructure and ecosystem, including ground-based infrastructure, in place to allow safe advanced operations – dramatically cutting the time and investment that any individual company would require to establish a similar testing ground.

uAvionix Wins FAA Approval for BVLOS Flight

“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 North Dakota Governor Doug Burgum. “Other states are reaching out to us as a national leader in UAS.”

“We are incredibly proud to lead the way in North Dakota with our partners from Vantis and Thales,” said Christian Ramsey, uAvionix President. “Being able to demonstrate much of our ecosystem in approved BVLOS flight is a major milestone for our company, our partners, and the broader aviation ecosystem.”

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 see and avoid other aircraft when flying beyond the 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.

“Vantis was designed and implemented to serve many drone operators across multiple sectors,” said Trevor Woods, Executive Director at the Northern Plains UAS Test Site. “This first approval is an important milestone for Vantis, as a blueprint for widespread commercial BVLOS enablement.”

“We thank the Federal Aviation Administration for acknowledging that our approach to BVLOS in North Dakota maintains the same safety standards that the agency expects for all users within the national airspace,” said Frank Matus, Director of ATC and Digital Aviation Solutions for the Americas at Thales USA, the state’s infrastructure partner for the Vantis network. “We continue to collaborate with FAA as regulations evolve to ensure that Vantis meets the needs of all stakeholders.”

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Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, a professional drone services marketplace, and a fascinated observer of the emerging drone industry and the regulatory environment for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles focused on the commercial drone space and is an international speaker and recognized figure in the industry.  Miriam has a degree from the University of Chicago and over 20 years of experience in high tech sales and marketing for new technologies.
For drone industry consulting or writing, Email Miriam.

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