Vantis, North Dakota’s statewide unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) network, is expanding: and with it, North Dakota’s drone ecosystem.

North Dakota has invested heavily in the drone ecosystem, putting significant money and resources behind drone businesses.  Vantis is designed to be the nation’s first statewide UAS beyond-visual-line-of-sight (BVLOS) network: the Grand Sky business and aviation park is another significant piece of the drone ecosystem. Grand Sky is a business park specifically focused on the drone industry – in the perfect location for testing new hardware and applications.  “Strategically located on the Grand Forks Air Force Base in North Dakota, Grand Sky is a hub of activities for UAS flight testing, training and development.”

Now, the new Vantis Mission and Network Operations Center (MNOC) will be housed at the Grand Sky business and aviation park. “The MNOC is an essential component of Vantis – as the name suggests, it is the focal point to provide secure network operations monitoring and administration, customer coordination and support, performance and safety data reporting, and other critical functions,” says the press release.

“The MNOC is an indispensable part of the infrastructure of Vantis,” said Nicholas Flom, executive director of the Northern Plains UAS Test Site, which oversees Vantis. “We’re putting together all of the technology necessary to accomplish our lofty goals, so as physical remote infrastructure is deployed, the MNOC is ready to go to connect the network.”

MNOC personnel will validate operator and unmanned aircraft information, confirm operational flight approvals, authorize information access, and review documentation, training, and credentials. During flights, they will monitor flight operations and manage contingencies as required. They will also verify flight completions and save operational data.

“It’s really the command center of the entire network,” said Jim Cieplak, program manager of Vantis. “The MNOC will be integral to coordinating flights and ensuring safety, and it couldn’t be in a better location.”

About Vantis
Vantis is North Dakota’s statewide unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) network, the first of its kind in the nation. Created by North Dakota with an initial investment in 2019, Vantis provides turnkey support to commercial and public UAS operators through infrastructure and regulatory approvals allowing applications and usability over a variety of industries. Visit VantisUAS.com for more information.

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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