Jennifer Sertl and Ian Gauger, July 2022
There are only seven Federal Administration Aviation UAV Test Sites in the United States. We are lucky to be within the ecosystem of the largest facility in the nation — Griffiss International Airport Test Site.
Recently we were part of the Hanger Bay Skydome ribbon cutting. The 13 Million Skydome, initiated in 2013, was once a hangar for B-52 Bombers during WWII. They have transformed the space to create the largest FAA designated indoor drone testing site in the country. Sitting in the vast space understanding the historical significance while there are nearby classrooms in the Innovare Advancement Center teaching quantum computing – you feel like you are in a vortex between past and future.
We were particularly inspired by Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente Jr.’s declaration,“Here we are today, new innovation, new technology, a brand new space. It will allow us to conduct year round experiments and testing, advanced drone technology, including artificial intelligence based flight controls, autonomous swarms of small drones. You will have the ability to fly from the inside to the outside. We will continue our partnership with NUAIR which oversees the 50 mile drone corridor between Rome and Syracuse.”
We are part of GENIUS NY. GENIUS NY is the world’s largest business accelerator competition focused on uncrewed systems, IoT and big data startups. The program is funded by Empire State Development and administered at CenterState CEO’s Tech Garden technology incubator in downtown Syracuse, NY.
As we continue to work on our ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) capabilities, we look forward to being part of this corridor’s innovation imprint.
The Griffiss International Airport Test Site is operated by the Griffiss International Airport Commissioner and managed by the Northeast UAS Airspace Integration Research Alliance (NUAIR). NUAIR is a New York based nonprofit organization that provides expertise in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) operations, aeronautical research, safety management, and consulting services.
