uAvionix has been awarded a waiver from the Federal Aviation Administration, per Governor Doug Burgum (R-ND). The FAA waiver allows uAvionix operators to fly drones beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) using the VANTIS network. The organization has been testing drones in the northwestern region of North Dakota to help develop and validate the system.

“There’s other commercial companies that are lined up to start onboarding on the VANTIS network, so hopefully this sets up a precedent for others to start applying for similar waivers and build their concept of operations and their use cases on the VANTIS system,” says Cyriel Kronenburg, VP of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships at uAvionix.

Burgum mentions that this is a “big deal” (Unmanned aerial…) in making North Dakota and “proving ground” for the UAS industry (Unmanned aerial…). “This approval 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,” says Burgum.